Every December, the same figure is seen across shop windows, greeting cards and television screens – a plump, white-bearded old man in a bright red suit, laughing generously as he delivers gifts across the world.
Santa Claus, as he is universally recognised today, feels timeless, or almost ancient. Yet the Santa most people believe to be a centuries-old Christmas tradition is, in fact, a carefully crafted creation of 20th-century advertising.
Long before modern Christmas campaigns, Santa Claus, rooted in European folklore around Saint Nicholas, looked nothing like the cheerful grandfather figure familiar today. In the 18th and 19th centuries, depictions varied wildly. Some illustrations showed him as a tall, thin monk in religious robes; others imagined him as a short, even slightly unsettling elf. His clothing shifted in colour from green and brown to blue and muted yellow. The warmth, humour and friendliness now associated with Santa were largely absent. There was no single, standard image but only scattered interpretations shaped by local traditions.
That began to change in the early 20th century, against the backdrop of one of the most difficult periods in American economic history. By the 1930s, the United States was deep in the Great Depression. Businesses across sectors were struggling, including a fast-growing beverage company that had built its identity around refreshment in the summer heat.
Coca-Cola faced a seasonal crisis. Consumers saw the drink as something to quench thirst on hot days, not as a product to enjoy during cold winters. As temperatures dropped, sales plummeted. Warehouses filled with unsold bottles, and the company realised that survival depended on transforming how people thought about its product.
Executives concluded that Coca-Cola needed to become more than a summer drink. It had to feel relevant in winter, and no winter festival carried more emotional weight than Christmas. What followed would become one of the most influential marketing decisions of the 20th century.
In 1931, Coca-Cola commissioned illustrator Haddon Sundblom to reimagine Santa Claus for a new advertising campaign. The brief was clear, to abandon the stern monk and eerie elf. The company wanted a Santa who felt human, warm and instantly likeable, someone families could trust and children could adore.
Drawing inspiration from Clement Clarke Moore’s poem A Visit from St Nicholas, Sundblom created a Santa who was round-faced and cheerful, with rosy cheeks, kind eyes and a thick white beard. He reportedly used a retired salesman friend as his model, giving Santa the proportions and expressions of a friendly grandfather. Most importantly, Sundblom dressed him in a rich red suit trimmed with white fur, a colour choice that perfectly matched Coca-Cola’s branding.
The first advertisements appeared in popular American magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post. They showed Santa pausing during his Christmas rounds to drink a bottle of Coca-Cola, restoring his energy. The message was subtle but powerful; Coca-Cola was not just for summer, it became a “drink for every season”.
The campaign struck an emotional chord. Children saw Santa enjoying Coca-Cola, and adults absorbed the idea that the drink belonged at Christmas celebrations. Winter sales began to rise, and Coca-Cola had solved its seasonal problem.
But the company did not stop at one successful campaign. For more than three decades, from 1931 to 1964, Sundblom produced new Santa illustrations every year. Each version reinforced the same image of Santa laughing with children, sneaking a cola from the fridge, resting after a long night of gift-giving. These images appeared everywhere including magazines, newspapers, shop displays, billboards and posters.
Over time, older versions of Santa faded from public memory. The Coca-Cola Santa became the Santa. What began as a commercial solution slowly reshaped global culture. Across continents, from North America to Europe and eventually Asia, the red-suited, jolly Santa became the unquestioned symbol of Christmas.
