Did You Know? Santa Claus's plump, rosy-cheeked image was invented by Coca-Cola

 

Originally, Santa Claus was depicted as a tall and slender man wearing a bishop's robe or animal-skin attire, similar to a Nordic hunter. He was far from the chubby, red-and-white-clad figure now widely recognized as part of Coca-Cola's brand identity.

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Today is Christmas, and the festive atmosphere is everywhere as people prepare to welcome the most memorable guest of the evening. Around the world, children are told the story of a jolly, rotund old man with a white beard, round glasses, and rosy cheeks.

This man rides a sleigh pulled by reindeer, parks it on the roof, slides down the chimney, and reads the wishes written in stockings before delivering gifts—on one condition: the children must behave and listen to their elders.

This character, of course, is Santa Claus.

The original Santa Claus was tall and slender, dressed in a bishop's robe or Nordic hunter-style animal skins.

However, many may not know that Santa Claus originated from the legend of Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children in Christianity. In this original portrayal, he was a tall, thin man dressed in bishop’s robes or Nordic hunter-style attire.

Everything began to change in the 1930s, thanks to Coca-Cola.

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The Coca-Cola Santa Claus

It was in 1931 that Coca-Cola, aiming to leverage Santa Claus’s image for its Christmas and New Year advertising campaigns, hired Haddon Sundblom, an American illustrator, to create a new, more approachable version of Santa that aligned with the Coca-Cola brand, especially appealing to children.

Sundblom reimagined Santa as a plump, rosy-cheeked, warm, and friendly figure dressed in a red-and-white outfit matching Coca-Cola’s brand colours. These first illustrations of Santa Claus appeared in American newspapers and magazines in 1931, including The Saturday Evening Post, Ladies' Home Journal, National Geographic, and The New Yorker.

Fun Fact:

For decades after, Coca-Cola consistently promoted their plump Santa, depicting him as a jolly, chubby man who would visit children, read their letters, and leave behind toys.

Afterwards, Santa would raid the fridge, grab a bottle of Coca-Cola as a token of thanks from the children, and drink it. This portrayal made Santa Claus the cheerful, round-bellied figure we know today.