Before 1931, Santa Claus didn’t have a uniform look.
He was tall. He was skinny. He was sometimes a bit creepy.
Depending on the artist (or the culture), he might show up in a bishop’s robe, a fur-lined Norse cloak, or something more… elfish.
In fact, in the mid-1800s, Civil War cartoonist Thomas Nast was the first to draw Santa for Harper’s Weekly. His early Santa was small, elf-like, and very pro-Union. Over the next 30 years, Nast continued to evolve Santa, changing his size, personality, and even his coat color, from tan to a muted red. But still, he wasn’t the Santa we know today.
Other artists tried their hand too, sometimes dressing Santa in animal skins, or religious garb. It was clear the character had potential… but no one had fully cracked the code.
Then Coca-Cola came along.
And everything changed.
See, Coke wasn’t trying to redefine Christmas. They were just trying to sell more soda in the winter. (Sales used to slump when the weather got cold.) So they did what all great marketers do: they found an emotional anchor, in this case, Santa Claus, and they made it unforgettable.
In 1930, they tested the waters. Artist Fred Mizen painted a department store Santa, clad in red and white, raising a bottle of Coke. It was used in print ads that season. The idea was good. But the execution was about to get iconic.
In 1931, Coca-Cola ad exec Archie Lee wanted something warmer. More human. More real.
So he hired illustrator Haddon Sundblom to paint a new version of Santa, a version based on the poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (you probably know it as “’Twas the Night Before Christmas”).
Sundblom’s Santa was unlike anything that had come before:
Rosy cheeks. Kind eyes. A plush red velvet suit with white fur trim. A warm, jolly energy. And not coincidentally — a color scheme that matched Coca-Cola’s brand identity perfectly.
And just like that, the modern Santa was born.
But Coke didn’t stop there.
From 1931 to 1964, Coca-Cola rolled out an unforgettable series of ads featuring this new Santa. He was seen delivering toys, raiding fridges, reading letters from children, always with a bottle of Coke in hand. The ads ran in The Saturday Evening Post, Ladies Home Journal, National Geographic, The New Yorker, and dozens more.
Sundblom painted the Santa each year, often using a live model, his friend Lou Prentiss. When Prentiss passed away, Sundblom used himself as a model, painting while looking in a mirror. (Which may explain why, in one year’s ad, Santa’s belt was painted on backward.)
People loved it.
They didn’t just buy the soda. They bought into the story.
And Coca-Cola? They didn’t just put Santa in ads — they turned him into their ad. Billboards, magazine spreads, store displays, calendars, cardboard cutouts, even plush dolls. Many of which are still collectibles today.
This was more than a branding win.
It was a cultural takeover.
Let’s be real… brands are remembered for how they feel. And Coca-Cola made Christmas feel like a Coke ad. Not by accident, but by intent. They invested in the right image, refined it year after year, and embedded it into the emotional fabric of the holiday season.
That’s not manipulation. That’s master-level marketing.
So the next time you see Santa sipping soda, remember:
He used to be a Norse huntsman in a fur pelt.
Now? He’s a brand ambassador.
Thanks to Coca-Cola.
If you’re ready to level up your brand and create the kind of marketing that owns the moment (and maybe even a holiday), let’s talk.
📩 Subscribe to our newsletter for insights that blend strategy, story, and serious ROI.
📞 Or contact us today — and let’s build something iconic.
