Every December, we see the same happy, rosy-cheeked, red-suited Santa everywhere. But the Santa we know today did not come from old stories; Coca-Cola helped to create him. How did they do it? They used a powerful combination of storytelling, design, and consistency that unfolded over decades. Here are the ten marketing tricks that brought the modern Santa to life and turned him into one of the most successful brand-linked figures in history.
1. Creating one universal Santa
Before the 1930s, Santa had no single appearance; sometimes tall, thin, strict, or even elf-like. He originated as a mythological figure shaped by centuries of folklore, evolving from Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, and various regional winter spirits. Each culture gave him a different look and personality, making Santa a collection of many traditions rather than one fixed character.
That was until 1931, in Chicago, when Coca-Cola’s illustrator Haddon Sundblom introduced a warm, friendly, round Santa. By sticking with this artwork year after year, Coca-Cola turned this version into the global standard.
2. Making red the defining Christmas colour
Santa’s suit existed in several colours historically, but Coca-Cola consistently used bright, joyful red. Not by coincidence, it was the exact shade tied to its brand. Over time, Santa’s red and Coca-Cola’s red became inseparable in the public’s mind, reinforcing both the character and the brand.
3. Flooding the world with Santa imagery
Coca-Cola did not rely on a single ad campaign. Their Santa appeared everywhere: in magazines, newspapers, shop windows, billboards, and later on television. This constant, widespread visibility made Coca-Cola’s version of Santa impossible to ignore and easy to accept. Marketing scholars call this cultural saturation: the point at which an image appears so frequently that it becomes part of collective memory.
4. Giving Santa a human, relatable face
Unlike earlier depictions, Coca-Cola’s Santa was not a cartoon or a mythical figure. Sundblom illustrated him using a live model, which added warmth and realism. Santa became someone you could imagine meeting, like a friendly grandfather and not a distant legend.
5. Showing Santa in everyday moments
Another clever trick: Coca-Cola placed Santa in simple, recognisable scenes. For example: reading letters, resting in a comfy chair, packing gifts, or sharing a Coke. These everyday moments made Santa feel more human and helped people form an emotional connection with him.
6. Turning Coke into a holiday ritual
By linking Coca-Cola with family gatherings, cosiness, and festive cheer, the brand turned drinking Coke into a defining Christmas moment. The product became part of the holiday experience itself, not just a beverage you buy, but a feeling you share.
7. Launching the iconic Christmas trucks
In the 1990s, Coca-Cola added a modern twist: glowing red Christmas trucks. With sparkling lights, dramatic music, and Santa imagery, these trucks became a signal that “the holidays have arrived.” What began as an ad turned into a beloved seasonal tradition. Their annual tours boosted brand visibility and created large public gatherings, proving how effective experiential marketing could be during the festive season.
8. Aligning Santa with Coca-Cola's brand values
Coca-Cola stands for happiness, generosity, and connection—values that also define Santa. By consistently showing Santa as joyful, kind, and warm-hearted, Coca-Cola created a perfect match between character and brand. When a brand’s message aligns with a cultural symbol, this is known as value congruence. By presenting Santa as joyful, kind, and caring, Coca-Cola did not just use Santa; it made Santa a carrier of its brand identity.
9. Owning December in stores
Every year, stores fill with Coca-Cola Santa displays: cardboard cut-outs, posters, lights, and decorated shelves. This makes the shopping environment feel festive and familiar. Coca-Cola does not just advertise during the holidays; it decorates them through Santa.
10. Leading with emotion instead of product features
The final and perhaps most important trick: Coca-Cola did not try to convince people to buy Coke by talking about its taste or ingredients. Instead, it focused on emotions like nostalgia, joy, magic, and togetherness. Santa became the storyteller, the emotional anchor that made the brand unforgettable. This trick is called affective conditioning: pairing a product with positive emotions until consumers automatically associate the two.
A Santa shaped by storytelling
Coca-Cola did not create Santa Claus, but through these ten strategies, it shaped the Santa billions of people picture today. The round belly, the twinkling eyes, the red suit, the kindness—so much of what we call “Christmas magic” comes from decades of Coca-Cola’s imaginative branding.
And that’s the strength of great marketing: when it works, it does not just sell a product, it shapes culture itself.