Celebrating 75 Years of the Coca-Cola Santa

Q. Who was Haddon Sundblom?
A. Swedish-American artist Haddon Hubbard Sundblom was a legend in the advertising and creative industry, from the 1920s until he passed away in 1976. His greatest legacy is his inspired creation of the "Coca-Cola Santa" in a long-running series of holiday advertisements for The Coca-Cola Company. Beginning in 1931, Sundblom painted more than 40 original oil artworks of a lovable, jolly ole Saint Nicholas that captivated generations and, over the past 75 years, evolved into the lasting image of Santa for people around the world.

Known as "Sunny" to his friends, Sundblom was born in 1899 in Muskegon, Michigan, and moved to Chicago, Illinois, in 1912. In 1920, he was hired as an office boy at the Charles Everett Johnson Studios, where he soon decided on a career in illustration. Within five years, Sundblom and two friends launched their own advertising agency. Early clients included not just The Coca-Cola Company, but also Cream of Wheat, Palmolive, Nabisco, Maxwell House, Whitman Chocolates and Goodyear Tires. Among his other noted commercial works during his distinguished career were illustrations for Packard, Buick and Pierce-Arrow, as well as creation of the "Quaker Man" for Quaker Oats. Sundblom was known in some circles as the greatest advertising illustrator of them all, achieving the pinnacle of his profession during the golden age of posters and billboards in America.

Q. How did the "Coca-Cola Santa" originate?
A. In the early 20th century consumers commonly regarded Coca-Cola as a drink almost exclusively for the hot, summertime period. To change this mindset, The Coca-Cola Company decided to connect the drink with winter and cold weather. This began in the early 1920s with the "Thirst Knows No Season" campaign and developed into the idea of incorporating Santa Claus and Christmas to remind consumers that Coca-Cola was ideal for every month of the year. What started as an advertising concept grew to broadly influence the way we view the image of Santa Claus today.

In 1931, Sundblom was commissioned by Coca-Cola to illustrate Santa for its upcoming holiday campaign. Sundblom's portrayals of a warm and friendly Santa captivated American consumers and eventually people all over the world. The inspired illustrations evolved into the quintessential look of Santa that, over time, would be adopted as the popular image of "Father Christmas." Sundblom's renditions of Saint Nicholas as they appeared in the advertising became known as the "Coca-Cola Santa."

Q. Where did the Santa Claus images created by Haddon Sundblom first appear?
A. Sundblom's Santa was introduced in 1931, in Coca-Cola magazine ads in The Saturday Evening Post, Ladies Home Journal, National Geographic and other U.S. publications.

Q. Did The Coca-Cola Company invent Santa Claus?
A. No. What is significant about the oil paintings created for Coca-Cola advertising by Sundblom is that these illustrations evolved into the most-popularly held vision of Santa around the world today. The origins of Santa Claus date back many centuries and are commonly believed to be associated with the legend of Saint Nicholas, a bishop from fourth century Turkey known for his acts of kindness. For centuries, there were numerous and often mythological interpretations of the look of Saint Nicholas -- from tall to elf-like and sometimes rather stern-looking or even frightening -- within various regions and cultures, but there was no universally held, classic image of the warm and jovial visitor from the North Pole until Sundblom's illustrations came along 75 years ago.

Sundblom drew his first illustration of Santa Claus for Coca-Cola in 1931 and continued to do so until 1964. Over time, the images Sundblom painted of a human-looking, kind and jolly old man captured the public's imagination. Over the years other artists have been inspired by many of the Santa features that Sundblom first put to canvas.

Q. Where did Sundblom draw his inspiration from for the Coca-Cola Santa?
A. Sundblom's brief from The Coca-Cola Company in 1931 was to illustrate a Santa that was at once both human and symbolic.

The image that the artist created was in part inspired by Clement Clarke Moore's epic poem, "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (also known as "'Twas the Night before Christmas").

Sundblom initially modeled Santa's smiling face after the cheerful, somewhat wrinkled looks of a friend, retired salesman Lou Prentiss. After Prentiss passed away, Sundblom used his own face as the ongoing reference for painting Saint Nicholas. The Nordic lines on Sundblom's own face were a seeming caricature of the Santa he had created, and he searched no further for a model.

Sundblom also occasionally used his young next-door neighbors in Tucson, Arizona, as models for some of the children in his heartwarming Santa scenes. Though they were sisters, Sundblom changed the features of one to a boy, to create more-balanced settings.

Q. What physical features of today's Santa Claus can be attributed to Sundblom?
A. The physical appearance that Sundblom painted of Santa was in part inspired by Clement Clarke Moore's 1822 poem, "A Visit from St. Nicholas," so some of Santa's looks are drawn from descriptions in that epic piece. In his illustrations, Sundblom gave Santa a realistically human size and refreshingly human elements, such as rosy cheeks, twinkling eyes and happy wrinkles, all to go with an enormous brass buckle fastening a broad leather belt, and large, floppy boots.
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Q. Is Santa's coat red because that is the color for Coca-Cola?
A. No. It is a common misconception that today's Santa Claus wears a red coat because red is the color associated with Coca-Cola. In fact, Santa appeared in a red coat in numerous earlier written accounts and illustrations, before Sundblom painted him for Coca-Cola advertising.

Q. Why did the version of Santa Claus painted by Sundblom become so popular, when there have been countless other renditions of Saint Nicholas drawn throughout the centuries?
A. Some of the popularity of Sundblom's depictions of Santa Claus can be attributed to the times during which they were created. Because magazines were the principle form of mass communication from the 1930s to the 1960s, the Coca-Cola Santa images were seen initially by almost every American and -- as Coca-Cola distribution and marketing spread internationally -- they gradually became well-liked and accepted in other countries around the world.

Sundblom also had remarkable talent. His understanding of color and his mastery in applying it to canvas were the envy of the other young artists of his day. He was accomplished at adding distinctive human touches to his paintings that were wholesomely charming in effect and often also full of romantic appeal. While he created numerous memorable images for a number of well-known clients during his illustrious career, Sundblom's collective depictions of Santa Claus for Coca-Cola over a span of 33 years stand as his seminal work.

Q. Was Sundblom the first artist to paint Santa Claus in advertising for Coca-Cola?
A. No. The Company in the 1920s ran some ads featuring a rather stern-looking Santa, and in 1930 Coke hired artist Fred Mizen to illustrate a department store Santa impersonator pausing at a soda fountain. But when Sundblom was given the assignment in 1931 to draw Santa, he took the notion of the jolly old elf in a new direction, depicting not an ordinary man dressed up as Santa, but the real Saint Nicholas who travels around the world and touches the lives of families everywhere. Sundblom's reflections of Santa were so authentic that they became the most-enduring and widespread depiction of the holiday icon. To this day, they broadly influence the way people imagine the true look of Saint Nicholas

Q. Over the past 75 years, has The Coca-Cola Company used any images of Santa Claus that were not created by Sundblom?
A. The Coca-Cola Santa Claus as illustrated by Sundblom has been the dominant version of Santa used in Company marketing for the last 75 years. Continuing the legacy, the Company to this day uses a variety of Sundblom's timeless depictions of Saint Nicholas in holiday advertising, packaging and other promotional activiti

Q. After Sundblom stopped drawing Santa Claus for Coca-Cola, why didn't the Company get another artist to continue the tradition?
A. Sundblom's lasting images of Santa remain as omnipresent as the character they represent and are among the most-recognized and treasured pieces in the annals of print advertising for Coca-Cola, or any product. Not only are they irreplaceable, but through Coca-Cola advertising they have become a fixture of the holiday season, as anticipated as a visit from Santa himself.

Q. What happened to the original oil paintings of Santa Claus that were created by Sundblom?
A. The collection of original Sundblom paintings of Santa Claus -- more than 40 in all -- for Coca-Cola advertising remains in the archives of The Coca-Cola Company. As testimony to their impact, most of Sundblom's original Santa artworks have been exhibited in several prestigious museums, shopping meccas and popular local venues around the world, including the Louvre in Paris, the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, the Isetan Department Store in Tokyo and the NK Department Store in Stockholm.

This season, the 75th anniversary of the Coca-Cola Santa is being celebrated in the United States with an exhibition featuring a selection of the original Sundblom paintings at Jazz at Lincoln Center, in New York City.

Meanwhile, the various Santa depictions by Sundblom are still used by The Coca-Cola Company. Along with Coca-Cola print advertisements, Sundblom's Santa has appeared on store displays, packaging, billboards, calendars, posters, serving trays and numerous other promotional pieces and gift items, quickly making them collectibles. Some cardboard retail displays that sold for less than one American dollar in the 1930s and '40s have been valued today in amounts ranging from US$500 to more than US$1,500 by memorabilia collectors.

Q. Where can people find out more information about the Coca-Cola Santa and Haddon Sundblom?
A. More background and fun facts about the Coca-Cola Santa and artist Haddon Sundblom can be found in the "Heritage" area of The Coca-Cola Company Web site, www.thecoca-colacompany.com.