How Coca-Cola ‘Invented’ Santa Claus

The Santa we know today owes his makeover to a clever Coca-Cola ad campaign.

Fez– Santa Claus: the jolly, red-suited man who shows up every December like clockwork, bringing joy, gifts, and a craving for soda.

Believe it or not, the version of Santa we know today, the round belly, rosy cheeks, and that red suit, is more Coca-Cola than folklore.

Yes, the world’s favorite soft drink didn’t invent Santa, but it did reinvent him. And it worked like a charm.

Let’s rewind a bit. The real Saint Nicholas was a 4th-century Christian bishop known for his generosity and, apparently, a fondness for green robes.

For centuries, depictions of Santa varied wildly. Some looked like forest elves, others like bishops.

But in the early 20th century, Coca-Cola had a branding challenge: people thought it was a summer drink.

Sales dropped when the weather got cold. So they asked the question no one else dared: What if Santa sold soda?

In 1931, Coca-Cola launched a Christmas ad campaign that would change holiday marketing forever.

They brought in Swedish-American illustrator Haddon Sundblom, who was given one job: make Santa relatable, warm, and very, very red.

Inspired by the poem “’Twas the Night Before Christmas”, Sundblom painted a version of Santa that looked nothing like the austere Saint Nicholas from Christian tradition.

Instead, he was tall, chubby, and cheerful, with a red and white suit that happened to match Coca-Cola’s brand colors perfectly.

But Sundblom didn’t just make one painting and call it a day. For over three decades, from 1931 to 1966, he continued refining his Santa, using real people as models, including a retired salesman named Lou Prentice and eventually, himself.

That’s right, at some point, Santa was literally a self-portrait.

And the strategy worked. Coca-Cola managed to convince the world that its fizzy drink wasn’t just for summer.

“Thirst knows no season” became more than a slogan; it was a winter marketing breakthrough.

The Santa created in those ads became “the” Santa. So much so that even decades later, his image lives on, not just in Coca-Cola commercials, but in global pop culture.

Today, Sundblom’s original paintings are considered collectors’ treasures. You’ll find them in places as diverse as the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, the Louvre in Paris, and yes, tucked safely away in the Coca-Cola Archives.

The stuffed toys, posters, and merchandise from that golden era of advertising still sell like hot cocoa.

So no, Coca-Cola didn’t create Santa Claus. But they did give him a makeover that turned him into a global superstar, and maybe the most successful holiday brand ambassador in history.