Webcam

Most people can agree on what Santa Claus looks like - jolly, with a red suit, white beard and pleasantly plump. But he did not always look that way. The image of Santa Claus ranged from big to small and fat to tall. Santa even appeared as an elf and looked a bit spooky.Through the centuries, Santa Claus has been depicted as everything from a tall gaunt man to an elf. He has worn a bishop's robe and a Norse huntsman's animal skin. The modern-day Santa Claus is a combination of a number of the stories from a variety of countries. For example, the reindeer and sleigh are from Scandinavia, while the pipe and chimney are from Holland.The Civil War cartoonist Thomas Nast drew Santa Claus for Harper's Weekly in 1862; Santa was shown as a small elf-like figure who supported the Union. Nast continued to draw Santa for 30 years and along the way changed the color of his coat from tan to the now traditional red.The Coca-Cola Company began its Christmas advertising in the 1920s with shopping-related print ads in magazines like the Saturday Evening Post. The first Santa ads used a strict-looking Claus, in the vein of Thomas Nast.Santa Claus made an appearance in our advertising again 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 of Famous Barr Co. in St. Louis, Mo. Mizen's painting was used in print ads that Christmas season, appearing in the Saturday Evening Post on December 27, 1930. In 1931, the Coca-Cola Company commissioned Chicago illustrator Haddon Sundblom to develop the image of a human-like Santa Claus, based on the positive public response to a magazine advertisement for Coca-Cola depicting such a character that appeared in late 1930. Prior to Sundblom's first rendition in 1931, people envisioned Santa Claus as leprechaun-like, or as a queer mixture of a gnome and a bishop. Over the next third of a century, Sundblom's Santa would be embraced by the public worldwide, and become a holiday tradition.For inspiration in creating his Santa Claus, Sundblom turned to Clement Moore's 1822 poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas". Moore's description of the toy maker as "chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf" led to an image of Santa that was warm, friendly and human. Sundblom often used neighborhood kids, dogs and family members as models, changing their hair color, clothes, even genders to suit his subject. Sundblom's original model for Santa was his friend and neighbor Lou Prentice, a retired salesman. After Prentice died in the late 1940's, Sundblom would often find his model by looking in the mirror.The remaining Santa paintings use Sundblom as his own model -- although he said he added the beard as he painted, rather than growing one.Haddon Sundblom painted 35 years of Santa portraits that were used in magazine ads and posters, and which now also appear in special exhibitions around the world."Of the thousands of pieces of art in our archives, none is as valuable as the Sundblom Santas," said Philip F. Mooney, the Company's archivist. "But their value goes beyond the worth of the paintings themselves."Another one of Haddon Sundblom's famous creations for the Coca-Cola Company was the Sprite Boy, which was originally used to introduce the brand name Coke in 1942. The Sprite Boy wore either a soda-jerk's cap to promote fountain sales of Coke or a bottle cap to advertise bottled Coca-Cola. After 1949, the Sprite Boy would not appear with Santa again, and he disappeared altogether from advertising for Coca-Cola by 1958.Haddon Sundblom, who died in 1976, created numerous illustrations used in advertising for Coca-Cola over the years, but is best known for the Santa and Sprite Boy characters.

Source:Extracts of this story are from www.coke.com

Why he's not the real thing

By Melanie Brooks Tuesday, December 24, 2002
The Ottawa Citizen

Santa Claus tells Melanie Brooks that the soft-drink company 'got a little carried away' with its claim to have created the modern image of St. Nick.

In 1881, five years before the Coca-Cola company was created, Thomas Nast, a political cartoonist for Harper's Weekly, started drawing the first images of Santa that resemble the ones we know today.

At least 20 years before Coke's ads, Christmas greeting cards like this one often featured the modern image of Santa.

Coca-Cola almost made it onto the naughty list this Christmas. In its holiday promotion package, the huge soft drink company crossed the one thing bigger than Coke: Santa Claus.In the publicity package released just weeks before Christmas, Coca-Cola claimed credit for Santa's current appearance, saying: "The modern image of Santa Claus was created 71 years ago when Haddon Sundblom created him for The Coca-Cola Company's advertising campaign."In fact, the image of Santa as we know him existed decades before Haddon Sundblom -- or Coke -- were even born.Images of Santa with a red suit trimmed with fur and a pack of toys began to pop up in the early 1800s.As early as 1820, stores began to use Santa Claus in their advertisements, and the Salvation Army started dressing up volunteers in Santa suits in the 1890s to raise money for the charity's Christmas dinner for the needy.And in 1881 -- five years before Coca-Cola was created -- it was Thomas Nast, a political cartoonist for Harper's Weekly, who drew one of the first images of Santa matching the one we know today.Mr. Nast drew Santa in his bright red suit trimmed with white fur, with the North Pole workshop, elves, and his wife, Mrs. Claus.Taking a break from visiting with children this week at the Bayshore Shopping Centre in Ottawa, Santa Claus shook his head when told of Coca-Cola's latest marketing manoeuvre."They've tried to come into it like they own Santa Claus," he said. "But Santa Claus doesn't belong to a company. The kids own him, in their minds, and in their hearts. That's what makes Santa Claus so special."The "Coca-Cola Santa Claus," used in the Christmas Coca-Cola ads, portrays Santa with a long, flowing beard, a bottle of Coke in hand. Coca-Cola has even published a book with the Sundblom pictures.Fortunately, Santa is a right jolly old elf, and didn't take offence to hearing that Coca-Cola told him how to look.With a tilt of his head and a big, rumbling belly of a laugh, he said he won't put Coca-Cola on the naughty list -- this time. Mr. Claus said he quite enjoys the soft drink, and they've done some "lovely pictures" of him."Haddon Sundblom, I remember him," Mr. Claus said. "He did some drawings of me once, for Coca-Cola."But the Coca-Cola Santa is bald. I'm not bald," Mr. Claus said with a wink, giving his long, white hair a gentle tug."Artistic licence, I suppose."Mr. Claus laughed again, and his chubby red cheeks raised up in a smile. He settled back in his overstuffed velvet chair, hands on his belly, and began to list all the artists, writers and painters who have tried to portray him over the centuries.Santa Claus evolved from the legend of St. Nicholas, whom many historians believe to be the fourth-century Bishop of Myra in Asia Minor, now Turkey, known for his kindness to children. A thin, pious man, St. Nicholas was often depicted as a solemn-looking bishop. But as he got older, St. Nick put on some weight and mellowed a bit.Mr. Claus goes by different names in different countries -- PËre Noel, Sinter Claes, Kris Kringle, Pelz Nichol, Father Christmas, St. Nick -- and has as many different outfits as names.Santa has changed his appearance quite a few times over the past few hundred years ("Wouldn't you?" Mr. Claus asked), sometimes appearing in long robes, sometimes elf-like, sometimes with a pipe, sometimes without.But it was a poem in 1822 that really captured Santa's new look, Mr. Claus said. Clement Moore wrote the poem, An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas, for his three daughters, a story that is known today as 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. And with the poem, the current idea of Santa, with the "beard of his chin as white as the snow" and a belly that "shook like a bowl full of jelly," was born.So although the 1931 Sundblom paintings of Santa Claus for Coca-Cola show Santa Claus as we know him today, it's certainly not the first time an artist has drawn the "modern" Santa."I think they just got a little carried away," Mr. Claus said with a smile. "As long as they portray me as a big, jolly old man who loves all children, then it doesn't matter how they paint Santa Claus. Because Santa Claus is Santa Claus."And despite liking Coca-Cola, Santa Claus said he still prefers milk with his cookies -- and carrots for the reindeer, of course.

Source: The Ottawa Citizen 2002

How old is Santa Claus ???

Everyone knows that the image of Santa Claus is synonymous with the holiday season inciting excitement among children at this time of year. But have you ever asked yourself how old he is? The 2002 Coca Cola Santa Survey reports that Canadian children from age four through eight believe that Mr. Claus is 100 years old. In fact, the modern image of Santa Claus was created 71 years ago when Haddon Sundblom created him for The Coca- Cola Company's advertising campaign. To-day, we still know and love this image of Santa with his red suit, rosy cheeks and a round belly, and Coca-Cola still uses the Sundblom image in their advertising initiatives. 'Coca-Cola has used Sundblom's Santa Claus in marketing initiatives since 1931. This year people will find images of Santa on most of our packaging of Coca Cola Classic soft drinks,'said Sandra Shatilla, National Promotions and Innovation Manager, Coca Cola Ltd. 'Sundblom created a loveable image of Santa, one that strikes a chord with families during the holidays. To tell our Santa story, we thought it would be fun to reach out to children and find out what holiday traditions they practice every year.'The Coca-Cola Santa Survey also revealed that in the off-season, kids think Santa likes to partake in activities such as going to the beach, the zoo and playing golf among others. But when the snow starts to fall and the holidays approach, sending letters to the 'jolly old elf'is still a popular practice to-day with over 75 per cent of children surveyed saying they send in their wish list to the North Pole every Holiday season. And how do these children repay Mr. Claus for delivering on their requests? Over 80 per cent report sticking with the tradition of leaving Santa a glass of milk to quench his thirst from his long journey.Before Sundblom created the modern day Santa Claus, Santa was portrayed as everything from a gnome to a troll to an elf, and has been clothed in many things including wolf skins and polar bear fur. Historically, the Santa Claus legend dates back as far as 300 A.D. and carries with it fascinating stories of the selfless acts of the first Bishop of Myra in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey), first known for his kindness to children and his help to the needy.The Coca-Cola Santa Survey was conducted in November 2002 by Acrobat Marketing and surveyed 400 children between the ages of four and eight across Canada.

Source: www.coke.com