Who illustrated Coca-Cola’s influential modern Santa Claus advertisements?

Haddon Sundblom illustrated Coca-Cola’s influential modern Santa Claus advertisements.

Starting in 1931, Coca-Cola commissioned Sundblom to create Santa illustrations for its Christmas advertising. His paintings showed Santa as a warm, cheerful, large human figure enjoying Coca-Cola, helping establish the familiar commercial image used in many later advertisements.

Sundblom did not invent Santa Claus, and Coca-Cola did not create the character’s red clothing. Earlier Santa traditions and illustrations already existed, including work associated with cartoonist Thomas Nast. Coca-Cola’s campaigns did, however, make Sundblom’s version extremely widespread.

The advertisements connected Coca-Cola with winter hospitality and gift-giving, even though the drink had historically been marketed in all seasons. Sundblom continued producing Santa paintings for Coca-Cola for decades, and the campaign became one of the company’s best-known advertising traditions.