Coca-Cola commissions a new Santa image
In 1931, Coca-Cola continues placing Christmas advertisements in major magazines as part of its winter marketing strategy.1 The company commissions illustrator Haddon Sundblom to create a new visual interpretation of Santa Claus for these ads.1 The brief calls for a Santa who feels warm, human, and believable, rather than a costume figure.1 Sundblom develops a character based partly on traditional literary descriptions, especially Clement Clarke Moore’s poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas”.1, 2
The creation of a modern visual standard
Sundblom’s first Coca-Cola Santa appears in 1931 advertising and quickly becomes a recurring figure in the brand’s seasonal campaigns.1
He portrays Santa as a friendly, larger-than-life figure with rosy cheeks, a white beard, and a red suit, often shown enjoying Coca-Cola during his journey.1, 2 This visual interpretation becomes highly consistent across decades of advertising.
A long-running visual campaign
From 1931 onward, Sundblom continues producing Santa imagery for Coca-Cola for more than 30 years.1, 2
Each illustration shows Santa in everyday festive moments, such as delivering gifts, resting by the fire, or visiting homes.1 The repeated visual language strengthens the association between Coca-Cola and Christmas imagery in global culture.
A lasting cultural impact
Over time, Sundblom’s Santa becomes one of the most influential depictions of the character in modern history.2 The imagery helps standardise the idea of Santa Claus as a warm, cheerful, red-suited figure across many countries.3, 4
Although Coca-Cola did not invent Santa Claus, its advertising plays a major role in shaping and globalising his modern visual identity.3, 4
Written with AI assistance, edited by a human. Find out more about our Use of AI.
1. The Coca-Cola Company, "Haddon Sundblom and the Coca-Cola Santas", company history page (metadata dated 10 August 2026), for Coca-Cola's Christmas advertising having begun in the 1920s in magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, with Fred Mizen's department store Santa running there in December 1930; for the company commissioning illustrator Haddon Sundblom to develop advertising images using Santa Claus; for the brief from Archie Lee of the D'Arcy Advertising Agency for a wholesome Santa who was both realistic and symbolic, showing Santa himself and not a man dressed as Santa; for Sundblom drawing on the 1823 poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas", which led to a warm, friendly, pleasantly plump and human Santa; for Sundblom's Santa debuting in 1931 in Coke ads in The Saturday Evening Post and appearing in Ladies Home Journal, National Geographic and The New Yorker; for the red suit and white beard; for the ads showing Santa delivering toys, pausing to read a letter and enjoy a Coke, visiting with children and raiding refrigerators at homes; and for Sundblom painting his final Santa in 1964. https://www.coca-colacompany.com/about-us/history/haddon-sundblom-and-the-coca-cola-santas
2. Wikipedia, "Haddon Sundblom", retrieved 8 October 2026, for the poet's name Clement Clarke Moore and the 1823 date of his poem, for Sundblom painting Santa in a red suit for The Coca-Cola Company from 1931 and continuing for the next 33 years, and for his Santa having firmly established the larger-than-life, grandfatherly Claus as a key figure in American Christmas imagery, while he is often wrongly credited with creating the modern image outright. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haddon_Sundblom
3. Coca-Cola, "Did Coca-Cola create Santa Claus?", FAQ page (metadata dated 11 March 2026), for Coca-Cola not having created the legend of Santa Claus, for its advertising having played a big role in shaping the jolly character known today, and for Sundblom's paintings having established Santa as a warm, happy character with human features. https://www.coca-cola.com/us/en/about-us/faq/did-coca-cola-create-santa-claus
4. Wikipedia, "Santa Claus", retrieved 8 October 2026, for images of Santa Claus having been conveyed through Sundblom's depiction for The Coca-Cola Company's Christmas advertising in the 1930s, for the urban legends that Coca-Cola invented Santa or gave him his red and white, and for Santa having appeared in red and white in Puck in the early 1900s and in White Rock advertising from 1915, before Coca-Cola. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus
