Have a Coke and a ... Santa?

So Maya, what do you think of when I say Santa?

The man on the street corners ringing bells during the Christmas holidays, and the guy sitting on his throne in every mall.

Did you ever do that when you were a kid?

Not really a big fan of sitting on a stranger's lap.

Okay, so when I say Coca-Cola, what comes to mind?

Lunchtime. I just finished a big cup at the hot dog stand. Now I'm full of sugar and energy.

So what do these two things have in common?

Have no idea, but I think you're about to tell me.

I just read an article that says Santa wasn't always a jolly fat man with a red suit.

And that relates to Coca-Cola how?

Believe it or not, Coca-Cola imprinted our modern view of Santa into the public mind.

I mean, doesn't Santa go back to St. Nick some hundreds of years ago? Coca-Cola wasn't around back then.

Right, but until Coca-Cola, Santa was seen in many different ways — tall, thin, wearing blue, green, or brown robes.

Okay, I think I see where you're going. So Coca-Cola invented the fat, jolly old man in the red suit.

Not exactly. Santa was depicted by some in that way before, but the depictions were totally inconsistent. Then, in 1931, Coke had a massive problem: nobody wanted to drink cold soda in the dead of winter. It was strictly a summer thing.

Ah, so they needed a winter miracle.

Exactly. They hired this artist named Sundblom to create a friendly version of Santa for their holiday ads. Sundblom based his drawing on that famous poem, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas — you know, the one with the rosy cheeks, twinkling eyes, and the round belly that shook like a bowl full of jelly?

Okay, but what about the red suit?

He made the suit bright red and white specifically to match the Coca-Cola logo.

Wait, seriously? So they dressed Santa in corporate colors?

Pretty much! And they didn't just do it once. They ran these ads everywhere — magazines, billboards, store posters — this ad campaign ran for thirty-three consecutive years until 1964.

Wow. So they took a popular legend and slapped their branding on him. Clever.

Exactly. Coca-Cola didn't invent Santa, but their marketing department cemented today's version of Santa.

Man, good marketing is powerful. Suddenly, I'm feeling thirsty. Coke?

Sure, why not. And that wraps up today's podcast.