Coca-Cola made a fine drink, and the lasting image of Santa Claus

Coca-Cola is imbedded in American history and culture in many ways. One of the most famous is the portrayal of Santa Claus.

In 1931, the company paid illustrator Haddon Sundblom to paint variations of Santa Claus for Christmas advertisements. Prior to that time, Santa was depicted in many ways across the globe — some were honestly kind of scary.

Sundblom said that he drew inspiration from Clement Clark Moore’s “Twas the Night Before Christmas” and drew a warm, jovial, bearded Santa. His version had twinkling eyes and quickly became popular.

Sundblom based early versions on his friend, Lou Prentiss, a retired salesman, and later on himself. The children in the images were based on neighbors.

Other variations followed, showing Santa drinking Cokes and delivering toys. The ads appeared in major magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, The New Yorker, Ladies Home Journal, and National Geographic.

In 1942, Santa got a sidekick called “Sprite Boy.” However, he was not named for the drink as it had not been invented — he was considered to be an “elf or sprite.”

Merry Christmas!

Sources:

Coca-Cola Company