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Before Coca-Cola Santa Claus needed a consistent image.
Prior to the 1930s, you’d find depictions ranging from a tall, gaunt figure to a spooky elf. More famously, you could see Santa as a Union-supporting character in Thomas Nast’s Civil War cartoons.
Coca-Cola eventually partnered with artist Haddon Sundblom in the 1930s to transform Santa Claus into the modern image we all know and love today.
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Haddon Sundblom was a talented commercial artist who was hired by Coca-Cola in 1931. Based on primary sources from Coca-Cola, they gave him the task of remaking Santa Claus for a Christmas campaign.
Sundblom was inspired by Clement Clark Moore’s 1822 poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas.” He used the poem to create a vibrant red-suited Santa that would look similar in a modern context. He initially used his friend Lou Prentiss as a model and later himself.
The illustration debuted in The Saturday Evening Post soon after.
For Coca-Cola, the new Santa campaign was a huge success. So, from 1931 to 1964, Sundblom created all of Coca-Cola’s Santa Claus advertisements.
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Before Santa, The Coca-Cola Company had already created a successful marketing campaign in 1929 called “The Pause That Refreshes,” which showed that Coke could easily give you calm in a time of chaos.
Coca-Cola quickly started using Santa Claus in this campaign.
The most famous ad is the 1942 holiday advertisement featuring Santa taking a break from his Christmas Eve duties to pause and enjoy a Coke on a snowy rooftop.
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In 1942, Coca-Cola introduced “Sprite Boy,” an elf-like character. Don’t get this confused with the lemon-lime soda Sprite that was introduced in the 1960s.
Sprite Boy would appear with Santa Claus in ads during the 1940s and 1950s.
In the early 1950s, The Coca-Cola Company took Santa to new heights by launching “Operation Santa Drop.”
The stunt used an aerial mission of Santa Claus to deliver 50,000 bottles of Coca-Cola and to isolated military outposts and research stations at the North Pole.
The campaign aimed to provide refreshments and holiday cheer for the soldiers stuck in these remote outposts.
Coke used the footage for upcoming commercials during the Christmas season.
Coca-Cola has long used the mystique of its secret formula to its advantage. They’ve notoriously kept the formula in a secret vault in their headquarters in Atlanta.
In their recent ads, Coca-Cola claims that Santa Claus is among the privileged few who know this closely guarded secret.
Blending the two concepts has helped make Coca-Cola a fanciful reality.
The Coca-Cola Company has used Coca-Cola in their campaigns for more than a century now. They’ve shaped the modern day Santa.
The beverage giant continues to innovate with ads such as the 2023 “The World Needs More Santas,” which shows the tradition while emphasizing themes of kindness and generosity, encouraging consumers to embody Santa’s spirit through acts of goodwill.
The brand has been consistent in using Santa in relatable scenes across all media channels. Helping to strengthen the connection between Santa and Coca-Cola.
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