Unless you are the nerdiest of historians, the names Archie Lee and Haddon Sundblom are probably going to stump you when asked, “What are they best known for?” You’ll definitely be forgiven for not knowing that these two gentlemen may very well be responsible for the most common imagery we hold dear about jolly old St. Nick himself.
Coca-Cola started running print ads of Santa Claus in the early 1920s with a version of Santa that looked somewhat stern and not particularly jolly. Truth be told, at that time Santa was depicted in ads and images in a wide variety of ways, ranging from small and elfish to even tall and gangly.
But in 1930, a painting done by artist Fred Mizen, of a department store Santa drinking a Coke in a crowd, prompted Lee of the D’Arcy Advertising Company to begin working with the soda giant on developing a truly symbolic, lasting interpretation of Santa Claus that could be used for the ad campaigns that were placed in the best magazines of the time.
That’s where Sundblom comes in. He was the illustrator tasked with a vision for Santa that really hadn’t been tried before. He needed to come up with imagery of what could thought to be the real Santa Claus, not just someone that dressed the part.
Doesn’t sound too hard, does it? But think about it – prior to being tasked with this, what would now be considered a truly plum assignment, Sundblom had very little to go on. There really was no consensus opinion at the time as to what Santa truly looked like; everyone was left to their own imaginations. So we would imagine that the question became: What would inspire children, as well as the child in all of us, all over the world, to believe in the magic of Christmas?
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas is a story that we have to believe everyone has heard or recited at least once in their lives, so it is not hard to understand that it became the inspiration for Sundblom’s version of Santa Claus that remains the standard for most people today.
Jolly, plump, friendly, and smiling came through so clearly in Sundblom’s illustrations that his creations showing the jolly big man enjoying a Coke while doing everything from reading children’s letters and assembling or playing with toys, to even being caught by those children that stayed awake to sneak a peek.
His final vision that became today’s reality was a combination of a friend willing to be a live model, a variety of photographs to create consensus and, finally, images of himself drawn from mirrors at different angles.
The campaign and designs he created have been utilized in every form of advertising available throughout the years and the merchandise created from them are some of the most sought-after and valuable collectibles around.
Sundblom created his last version of the campaign in 1964, but variations ran for decades in Coca-Cola’s ongoing holiday messaging. His original paintings are considered valuable treasure not only to Coca-Cola but the entire world, and have been on display in art museums in Chicago, Paris, Stockholm and Toronto to name just a few places.
There is so much more detail to this wonderful story to be explored, but if nothing else, ask yourself: Don’t you feel just a bit better inside after learning about this heartwarming story?
