Who painted Coca-Cola's Santa Claus ads starting in 1931?

Who painted Coca-Cola’s Santa Claus ads starting in 1931? Haddon Sundblom did. His warm, grandfatherly paintings helped define the version of Santa that became central to Coca-Cola’s Christmas advertising.

Sundblom began painting Santa for Coca-Cola in 1931 and continued producing Santa images for roughly 33 years. He drew inspiration from Clement Clarke Moore’s 1823 poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” portraying Santa as friendly, human, cheerful and pleasantly plump. His friend Lou Prentice served as the original model.

A common mix-up is the claim that Sundblom invented the modern Santa Claus. He did not create the character, the red suit or every earlier depiction of Santa. Rather, his advertising artwork popularized and standardized a particular image: a large, kindly figure with a full white beard, rosy features and a bright red coat.

The illustrations became so recognizable that Coca-Cola continued using Sundblom’s Santa imagery long after his original campaigns. Sundblom also worked on other commercial art, including Coca-Cola’s Sprite Boy mascot and advertising for brands such as Quaker Oats.