The Branding of Santa

December 13, 2023  |  Branding Emails

Seeing Red.

Santa, Saint Nick, Father Christmas-whatever you call him, he’s been around centuries longer than Coca-Cola. But have you ever wondered how he built his image as a jolly, plump, and joyful red-suited bearer of gifts?

At the beginning of the 1930s, the burgeoning Coca-Cola Company was looking for ways to increase sales of their product during winter, then a slow time of year for the soft drink market. They turned to a talented commercial illustrator named Haddon Sundblom, who created a series of memorable drawings that associated a larger than life, red-and-white garbed Santa Claus with Coca-Cola.

Coke’s annual advertisements featuring Sundblom-drawn Santas holding bottles of Coca-Cola, drinking Coca-Cola, receiving Coca-Cola as a gift, and especially enjoying Coca-Cola. These illustrations became a perennial Christmastime favorite, helping to spur Coke sales throughout the winter and establishing the brand with children, an important segment of the soft drink market.

The success of this advertising campaign has helped fuel the legend that Coca-Cola actually invented the image of the modern Santa Claus. At the very least, Coca-Cola chose to promote the joyful red-and-white version over a variety of competing figures to establish it as the accepted image of Santa Claus.

So complete was Coke’s appropriation of Christmas that its Santa had elbowed aside all comers by the 1940s. He is the Santa on Hallmark cards, he is the Santa riding the Norelco shaver each Christmas season, he is the department store Santa, and he is even the Salvation Army Santa!

Santa’s image may have been well-known before Coca-Cola adopted it for their advertisements, but Coca-Cola had a great deal to do with establishing Santa Claus as a ubiquitous Christmas figure in America as the holiday transitioned from a strictly religious observance to a more secular and highly commercial celebration.

So What About Your Image?

As you can see from Coca-Cola and Santa, branding is all about perception. Successful brands make a connection with people and communicate a distinct advantage. They’re built on a solid foundation of effective communications, appealing visual language, and the personal experience a brand offers.

If you would like us to help you take a fresh look at your brand, please give me a call at 617-661-6125, or email to set up a meeting. We’d love the opportunity to talk about your branding challenges. And perhaps share a Coke.

Have a great holiday season,

Stewart Monderer

Reference: Urban Legends Reference Pages