Coca-Cola introduced its first Christmas-themed Santa Claus advertisement in 1931.
Artist Haddon Sundblom created the company’s best-known Santa illustrations for a campaign that presented Santa as warm, cheerful, and human. The paintings showed him enjoying Coca-Cola during his busy Christmas Eve route and helped make the character a major part of the brand’s seasonal identity.
Coca-Cola did not invent Santa Claus, nor did it create the red-and-white tradition from nothing. Earlier illustrations and stories had already shaped Santa’s appearance. Sundblom’s work helped standardize and popularize a particular modern advertising image.
The campaign continued for decades, with Sundblom producing Santa paintings through the 1960s. The association remains one of the most influential examples of seasonal branding in advertising history.