Just before the year ends, comes that time of the year when the town is painted red and green with Christmas-sy jolly vibes, despite many claiming red to be the colour of danger. And the year 2024 was no different.
But did you know that the cheerful, red-coat plump old guy who gives away gifts today- Santa Claus didn’t always wear red?
The history of Santa Claus dates back to the time when St. Nicholas, a 4th century Greek bishop known for his Christian faith and acts of generosity and kindness anonymously dropped three bags of gold down a chimney to provide dowries for three impoverished sisters.
Cut to the 19th century North America, the English figure of Father Christmas gained popularity as what we today know as Santa Claus- a portly, jolly, white-bearded man, often with spectacles, wearing a red coat with white fur collar and cuffs, white-fur-cuffed red trousers, a red hat trimmed with white fur, a black leather belt and boots, carrying a bag full of gifts for children.
Over the years, the same figure started to be popularly associated with a deep, hearty laugh, frequently rendered in Christmas literature as “ho, ho, ho!”
And adding to this cheerful tale of ‘Red’ Santa himself, was the story of beverages brand The Coca Cola Company which literally made Santa the Santa we know today via its branding and marketing efforts.
Being one of the first brands to come up with Christmas or Holiday advertising, The Coca Cola Company in 1931 had commissioned illustrator Haddon Sundblom to create a series of images featuring Santa Claus for their holiday advertisements.
His illustrations, at the time, depicted Santa enjoying Coca-Cola, showcasing a warm, friendly, and approachable version of the holiday figure and the same turned out to be widely successful and over the years, ended up playing a significant role in shaping the modern image of Santa Claus.
Mind you, before Coca Cola’s literal rendition to Santa Claus, Santa’s wardrobe comprised a kaleidoscope of colors, such as blue, green, and purple, but the main colours associated with him were tan and green!
And not just that, it wasn’t Coca Cola who actually came up with the red Santa that we know today, but an American caricaturist- Thomas Nast who in 1866 created a cartoon about Santa Claus and Christmas for Harpers Magazine in a red suit with fur lining, a nightcap, and a black belt with a large buckle and a tall brown pipe.
But what did work as magic in painting Santa red, was definitely Coca Cola’s branding and marketing efforts.
In 1931, the brand wanted the campaign to show a wholesome Santa who was both realistic and symbolic and hence Sundblom was commissioned by Coca Cola to develop advertising images using Santa Claus — showing Santa himself, not a man dressed as Santa.
For inspiration, Sundblom turned to Clement Clark Moore’s 1822 poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas” (commonly called “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”) which led to an image of a warm, friendly, pleasantly plump and human Santa. Sundblom’s Santa then debuted in Coke ads in The Saturday Evening Post and appeared regularly in that magazine, as well as in Ladies Home Journal, National Geographic, The New Yorker and others.
From 1931 to 1964, Coca‑Cola advertising showed Santa delivering toys (and playing with them!), pausing to read a letter and enjoy a Coke, visiting with the children who stayed up to greet him, and raiding the refrigerators at a number of homes. The original oil paintings Sundblom created were adapted for Coca‑Cola advertising in magazines and on store displays, billboards, posters, calendars and plush dolls. Many of those items today are popular collectibles.
In the beginning, Sundblom painted the image of Santa using a live model — his friend Lou Prentiss, a retired salesman. When Prentiss passed away, Sundblom used himself as a model, painting while looking into a mirror. Finally, he began relying on photographs to create the image of St. Nick.
People loved the Coca‑Cola Santa images and paid such close attention to them that when anything changed, they sent letters to The Coca‑Cola Company. One year, Santa’s large belt was backwards (perhaps because Sundblom was painting via a mirror). Another year, Santa Claus appeared without a wedding ring, causing fans to write asking what happened to Mrs. Claus.
The children who appear with Santa in Sundblom’s paintings were based on Sundblom’s neighbors — two little girls. So he changed one to a boy in his paintings.
The dog in Sundblom’s 1964 Santa Claus painting was actually a gray poodle belonging to the neighborhood florist. But Sundblom wanted the dog to stand out in the holiday scene, so he painted the animal with black fur.
Sundblom created his final version of Santa Claus in 1964, but for several decades to follow, Coca‑Cola advertising featured images of Santa based on Sundblom’s original works.
Cut to today, we don’t just have Santa associated with Coca Cola but a slew of brands and the work they’re doing on holiday advertising is getting as Christmas-sy as the following is:
DS Group’s Pulse
Pulse Candy, one of the core brands of Dharampal Satyapal Group (DS Group), has come out with a brand-new campaign – #TheGreatPulseChase. Building upon the success of last year’s quirky CGI-themed film, the campaign takes things to a whole new level this year with Santa on the run. The teaser film features brand ambassadors Abhishek Banerjee and Saurabh Shukla, inviting viewers to join the contest.
Lemonn
PeepalCo’s investment app, Lemonn, launched a heartwarming brand film this Christmas with an unconventional yet relatable theme “Santa is Retiring”. The film, developed in collaboration with ad agency Enormous, serves as a gentle reminder to the audiences about the importance of planning for retirement, all while embracing the festive spirit.
In the film, viewers see Santa Claus enjoying his post-retirement life after centuries of spreading joy worldwide. Through this story, Lemonn underscores the importance of financial planning for a comfortable life after retirement.
Birla Opus
This holiday season, CYLNDR India collaborated with Birla Opus to create an innovative and interactive Infinite Zoom Christmas Video. Designed to captivate and engage, the video immerses viewers in a vibrant and magical holiday world filled with hidden gifts, twinkling lights, and cozy corners. The interactive nature of the video challenges audiences to explore every detail and discover as many gifts as they can within the infinite zoom experience.
BigBasket
After a series of cheeky billboards for Children’s Day, Talented & BigBasket return together in time for Christmas. Produced by Puff Productions, the film, ‘Judy the Star’ is a heartfelt story of an elderly couple that spreads accidental Christmas cheer with help from a broken phone and a BigBasket delivery executive.
JSW MG Motor India
This Christmas season, JSW MG Motor India shared a heart-touching story that celebrates the spirit of compassion and kindness that accompanies the spirit of year-end festivities.
As families get together to celebrate the joy of Christmas, JSW MG Motor India highlights the essence of giving through a narrative about a young boy and his father.
Samsung Galaxy
Samsung has launched a first-of-its-kind campaign to spotlight the Sketch-to-Image feature of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra. The campaign, designed to celebrate the festive season, seamlessly blends the traditional medium of print with the immersive potential of augmented reality (AR).
The Christmas-themed campaign captures the magic of the season with an engaging Santa-themed AR game, powered by the revolutionary Sketch-to-Image feature on the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra. Readers of the print advertisement were invited to scan a QR code, bringing a 3D render of the device to life.
Elver
This Christmas, Elver, a D2C electronics brand, is spreading festive cheer with its latest holiday campaign, #LightUpWithElver. The campaign beautifully blends technology with the magic of the season, showcasing Elver Earbuds in a mesmerizing display.
