How Coca-Cola Hijacked Santa—and Made Him Hot

The Secret Recipe Behind Santa's Glow-Up (Hint: It Wasn't the North Pole)

Before Coca-Cola got involved, Santa Claus was kind of a shapeshifter. Sometimes he was tall, sometimes elf-sized. Occasionally, he looked like a borderline wizard with robes and a serious beard game. But everything changed in the early 1930s—when Big Soda stepped in like, "What if Santa, but make him marketable?"

📜 Santa’s Style Before Coca-Cola

Let’s roll the tape back a few centuries:

• The OG Santa figure was rooted in St. Nicholas, a 4th-century bishop known for generosity and rocking bishop drip—not exactly jolly red vibes.

• In the 1800s, artists like Thomas Nast illustrated Santa as a chunky dude with a pipe and a mischievous twinkle. But he wasn't locked in. Santa's look was still very much freelancing: sometimes serious, sometimes spooky.

Enter: Coca-Cola, stage left.

🥤 How Coke Turned Santa Into a Branding Icon

In 1931, Coca-Cola hired Haddon Sundblom, a commercial illustrator, to create a Santa Claus that felt warm, friendly, and human—not the borderline medieval version haunting kids in old illustrations. Sundblom’s Santa was:

• 🍎 Round like a jelly donut (and proud of it)

• ❤️ Dressed in Coca-Cola red

• 😊 Radiating kindness, warmth, and mid-century dad energy

• 👀 Always in a good mood—because he was sipping Coke, obviously

Coke didn’t invent Santa. But Sundblom’s artwork took all the scattered mythology and locked it into one iconic image. The smiling Santa lounging with a bottle of Coca-Cola became the seasonal vibe for decades. And once you go jolly, you don’t go back.

📈 The Marketing Sorcery

Coca-Cola didn't just draw Santa—they distributed him. Billboards, magazine ads, store displays. Santa became a winter mascot for good vibes and brand loyalty. The campaign was so potent, people started assuming Coke created Santa. The real magic? Coke made him mainstream.

Fun twist: Sundblom used a real-life model for Santa—a retired salesman with the perfect belly and charisma. When that guy passed away, Sundblom started using... wait for it... himself as the model. Yep, the Coke Santa was literally an artist’s self-portrait in a red suit.

🧃 Santa, But Make It Soft-Power

Coca-Cola’s Santa didn't just sell soda. He reshaped pop culture. Suddenly, Santa was:

• A figure of global recognition

• Less religious, more secularly cozy

• Smiling down from every shelf, poster, and gift tag

And the vibes stuck. Even as other brands tried their own take, Sundblom’s design became the aesthetic: twinkly eyes, crimson suit, snowy backdrop, and maybe—if you’re lucky—a bottle of refreshment magic.

🌍 Today’s Santa: A Global Celebrity with Corporate Roots

We love Santa for the magic, the memories, the cookies—but his modern look? That’s vintage Coca-Cola branding done right. Next time you see him tossing joy from a sleigh or winking from a holiday commercial, just know he once sat for a branding meeting like any other icon.

✨ Final Sip:

Coke didn’t just advertise a product. They designed a legend. And honestly? Santa’s glow-up is kind of aspirational. Who doesn’t want to go from folklore footnote to global icon with unlimited snacks and sleigh rights?