Coca Cola and the story behind how the modern Santa Claus came into being

21st December 2020

"What many do not know is that the modern-day Santa Claus is a very recent invention by one of the largest conglomerates in the world."

During the month of December, a white-bearded man dressed in a red coat with a white fur collar and cuffs carrying a bag over his shoulders has been quite a common sight to see in Nepal, especially since the past decade. They seem to be almost everywhere this time of the year, from the malls, the superstores, and the roads of New Road. It’s always good to see these men jolly in the red and white costumes, singing songs, waving their hands to pedestrians, and wishing a wonderful Christmas to everyone they see.

Prior to 1931, Santa Claus had a very different look to what we know and love now. Back then, Santa was depicted as everything from a tall gaunt man to a spooky-looking elf. A Civil War cartoonist Thomas Nast drew Santa Claus Harper's Weekly in 1862 as a small elf-like figure who supported the union. Nast, later on, continued to draw Santa for 30 years, changing the color of his coat from tan to the red he’s known for today.

coca-cola and santa

89 years ago, thanks to one man's imagination and artistic touch, the contemporary vision of Santa Claus as a jolly-looking gentleman with a white beard was born. Created by Swedish-American artist Haddon Sundblom for a long-running series of holiday advertisements for Coca-Cola, today's cherished version of Santa Claus is at once recognizable around the world as an emblem of the holiday season.

The Coca-Cola version of Santa was first introduced in 1931, created by a Swedish-American artist Haddon Sundblom, appearing in a series of print ads in - The Saturday Evening Post, Ladies Home Journal, National Geographic, and other U.S. publications. The captivating images struck a chord with the public, which almost instantly adopted the lovable personification as an enduring symbol of Christmas. Over the next few decades, the artist's depictions of Saint Nicholas evolved into the picture-perfect look of "Father Christmas" - the man in the red and white suit with the big brass belt buckle.

From 1931 to 1964, Coca-Cola advertising showed Santa delivering toys (and playing with them!), pausing to read a letter and enjoy a Coke, visiting with the children who stayed up to greet him, and raiding the refrigerators at a number of homes.
Another fun fact is that the Coca-Cola Santa was based on a salesman. Sundblom initially modeled Santa's smiling face after the cheerful, somewhat wrinkled features of a friendly retired salesman Lou Prentiss. When Prentiss passed away, Sundblom used himself as a model, painting while looking into a mirror. Finally, he began relying on photographs to create the image of St. Nick.

The Coca-Cola Santa image was so loved by people that they started paying very close attention to details of him and when anything changed, they sent letters to The Coca-Cola Company. Once when Santa’s belt was backward and the other when Santa Claus appeared without a wedding ring, causing fans to write asking what happened to Mrs. Claus.

Santa Claus got a new friend in 1942 named “Sprite Boy," a character who appeared with Santa Claus in Coca-Cola advertising throughout the 1940s and 1950s. Sprite Boy, who was also created by Sundblom, got his name due to the fact that he was a sprite or an elf. (It wasn’t until the 1960s that Coca-Cola introduced the popular beverage Sprite.)

Sundblom created his final version of Santa Claus in 1964, but for several decades to follow, Coca-Cola advertising featured images of Santa based on Sundblom’s original works. These paintings are some of the most prized pieces in the art collection in the company’s archives department and have been on exhibit around the world, infamous locales including the Louvre in Paris, the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, the Isetan Department Store in Tokyo, and the NK Department Store in Stockholm. Many of the original paintings can be seen on display at World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, Ga.

In 2001, the artwork from Sundblom's 1963 painting was the basis for an animated TV commercial starring the Coca-Cola Santa. The ad was created by Academy Award-winning animator Alexandre Petrov.Coca-Cola definitely did not create the legend of Santa Claus. But Coca-Cola advertising did play a big role in shaping the jolly character that we know of today.

Coca-Cola supports Waste Management at Chitwan National Park, Nepal

19th February 2020

"Coca-Cola in Nepal handed over PETbottle Collection Bins to Chitwan National Park."

Giving continuation to the initiative of keeping Chitwan National park as the Country’s first plastic-free protected area, Bottlers Nepal (Terai) Limited(authorized Bottler of The Coca-Cola Company) extended support with 25 large PET bottle collection bins to the Chitwan National Park authority, in close coordination with WWF Nepal. The initiative was started in January 2019 led by the Ministry of Forests and Environment, implemented by Chitwan National Park with the support of Nepal Army, WWF Nepal, Himalayan Climate Initiative, Coca-Cola in Nepal, National Trust for Nature Conservation, local buffer zone communities and tourism entrepreneurs.

PET bottles from several locations of the National Park are regularly collected through Coca-Cola Nepal’s Sustainability initiation, ‘Recycler Saathi’, which works specifically towards ethical and legal recycling of used PET bottles. The initiative is led by Coca-Cola Nepal’s Sustainability partner Creasion and aims at supporting the waste management
practice in Nepal.

Also Read: COCA-COLA COCA-COLA MOMOUTSAV 2020

The Coca-Cola Company through its World Without Waste vision has pledged to collect and recycle the equivalent of 100 percent of its packaging worldwide by 2030 and as part of the commitment in the Country, Coca Cola in Nepal has partnered with Himalayan Climate Initiative and Creasion to set up 2 PET bottle collection facilities for recycling, in Kathmandu & Bharatpur respectively.

Coca-Cola in Nepal supports Waste Management at Chitwan National Park

Mr. Narayan Rupakheti, Chief Warden of Chitwan National Park said, “Chitwan National Park is the pride of the country,a World Heritage Site with a diverse number of wild animals and birds. This joint effort will help the Wild Life and Nature Conservation. Our aim is to lead by example in keeping the natural habitat of the Country pristine.”

Mr. Pradip Pandey, Managing Director of Bottlers Nepal Limited and CEO of Bottlers Nepal (Terai) Limited shared, “We believe that taking better care of the environment through responsible practices is business as usual for us. Bottlers Nepal (Terai) Limited is proud to be a part of the initiative and would like to thank the Government of Nepal and our partners for the ongoing collaboration. We strongly believe that working together is a better way of solving problems and hope to continue being a part of impactful programs that stimulates the circular economy approach and contributes towards a clean Nation.”

"Complementing global initiatives to beat waste pollution, Nepal declared Chitwan National Park a plastic-free zone in 2019. Efforts should now be directed towards scaling up these initiatives to other national parks. Waste management; particularly the issue of dumping in rivers upstream of national parks, warrants urgent action from concerned authorities” said Dr. Ghana S. Gurung, Country Representative WWF Nepal"

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Compiled by :

Samana Maharjan

Coca-Cola Nepal’s Tribute to Women empowerment

7th March 2020

"The program aims to provide Nepali women retailers with the skills, techniques and tools required to succeed in the dynamic retail setup of Nepal, focusing on 4 key areas of retail: Shop management, Stock management, Customer management & Finance manage"

When you empower a woman you empower a nation, is a statement The Coca-Cola Company has always been committed to. The Company believes that women hold economic potential and are equal contributors to the world’s shared success. The Coca-Cola Company focuses on empowering women in the workplace and beyond through all its strategic approaches. Putting this in action, Bottlers Nepal Limited (the authorized bottler of The Coca-Cola Company) has been imparting Shopkeeper Training and Resources “STAR’ Program as a part of its global initiative 5by20, that aims to economically empower 5 million women across the value chain by the year 2020.

The program aims to provide Nepali women retailers with the skills, techniques and tools required to succeed in the dynamic retail setup of Nepal, focusing on 4 key areas of retail: Shop management, Stock management, Customer management & Finance management. A joint coordination between Bottlers Nepal’s Public Affairs Communication and Sustainability (PACS) team and the Sales team have been able to outreach 15cities and several small towns in Nepal to impart training to over 5,000 women retailers till date through the program.

“We realized that majority of the retailers in Nepal are women and these women, especially in rural areas, lack basic retailer and business skills. Through the 5by20 program, we have been aiming to address and support in removing barriers that women retailers are experiencing in their lives. The Company will continue to encourage women’s progress in its value chain and beyond”, said Pradip Pandey, Managing Director of Bottlers Nepal Limited.

In Nepal, we are amazed by the progress we are making towards our global goal to empower 5 million women. We are glad to be a part of this initiation which is supporting in transforming lives and communities of women, making a profound and lasting impact on global issues and also growing our business”,said Ambuj Singh, Country Director of Coca-Cola in Nepal.

Mina Tamang, a retailer in Rampur and a recent participant of the 5by20 program shared, “17 years back, I opened my shop to support my family. I have been putting all my energy and resources to make the shop profitable. However, there are times when I feel I am perhaps not doing the right things to grow my business further. But fortunately, The Coca-Cola team approached me to attend its STAR training program and since then, I have felt a sense of upliftment to keep doing better. The training was motivational, and it helped me to identify both my strengths and weakness. It was inspirational to meet other women retailers and learn from their experiences. I would like to thank Coca-Cola for giving me the opportunity.”

The Company works with WWF Nepal, WaterAid Nepal and Smartpaani on innovative integrated water management solutions for water conservation, water replenishment and to improve livelihoods of communities. As part of The Coca-Cola Company’s commitment towards a ‘World Without Waste’, Coca-Cola Nepal has been working with Himalayan Climate Initiative and GIZ for a PET Recollection Social enterprise that encourages recycling of PET waste in Kathmandu and recently partnered with Creation to establish a responsible PET recovery and recycling hub in Chitwan. Through the STAR Retailer training program, Coca-Cola Nepal is also empowering women retailers, in line with The Coca-Cola Company's global 5BY20 initiative. Coca-Cola Nepal continually engages in locally relevant initiations to bring about a positive difference to the lives of communities across the country.