History of the Santa Suit
WELCOME TO THE NORTH POLE…in the NETHERLANDS
… birthplace to Santa Claus.
Or, at least, the earliest version of Santa Claus as we know him today. He’s based on Saint Nicholas, a bishop who lived around the fourth century. Saint Nicholas was famous for leaving coins in poor children’s shoes or stockings.
You may be surprised to learn that prior to 1931, Santa was depicted as everything from a tall gaunt man to a spooky-looking elf. He has donned a bishop's robe and a Norse huntsman's animal skin. In fact, when Civil War cartoonist Thomas Nast drew Santa Claus for Harper's Weekly in 1862, Santa was a small elf-like figure who supported the Union.
In the early 1900s Santa was depicted on all manner of postcards, this time in boots and a white fur-trimmed suit. However, there did seem to be some debate over what color Santa’s suit should be — it’s shown in blue, red, and green on various postcards.
INTRO: COCO-COLA COMPANY
The Coca-Cola Company began its Christmas advertising in the 1920s with shopping-related ads in magazines like The Saturday Evening Post. The first Santa ads used a strict-looking Claus, in the vein of Thomas Nast.
In 1930, artist Fred Mizen painted a department-store Santa in a crowd drinking a bottle of Coke. The ad featured the world's largest soda fountain, which was located in the department store Famous Barr Co. in St. Louis, Mo. Mizen's painting was used in print ads that Christmas season, appearing in The Saturday Evening Post in December 1930.
The New York Times claimed that, "standardized Santa Claus appears to New York children. Height, weight, stature are almost exactly standardized, as are the red garments, the hood, and the white whiskers."
That was certainly the look that the Coca-Cola company latched onto when they needed to boost their sales in the 1930’s. After Fred Mizen painted a Santa enjoying a Coca-Cola in 1930, the company enlisted the illustrator Haddon Sundblom to help craft wholesome images of Santa they could use to advertise their product. The fact that Santa’s coat matched their company colors was certainly not lost on them.
While Coco-Cola did not create Santa’s signature look, they certainly were the branding catalyst behind it. Which is why they have such great holiday commercials every year, they’ve been doing this for a long time.
