Submitted by giuliomagnifico t3_zy5sef in todayilearned
You could have just asked
https://www.coca-colacompany.com/faqs/did-coca-cola-invent-santa
Oh I didn’t know, thanks. Anyway if you search (also in this subreddit), you will find lots of posts/info about “how Coca-Cola created the modern Santa Claus”.
Do you believe everything a corporation tells you?
If they have no reason to lie, and they have the records of exactly what happened... Yes I believe them.
No, I wouldn't believe "everything" that anyone told me.
Do you just believe everything the internet tells you?
Did Coca Cola manipulate the zeitgeist in order to better push their highly addictive and horribly unhealthy products on the world even harder than they already do?
No, says Coca Cola.
Even if it is true, the last people I would ask are the accused in this case
You sound angry, did they hurt you?
The Coca-Cola company made me obese and I now have diabetes II
You sound like a halfwit. Have you anything to actually add here?
Are you suggesting that they are lying?
Are you suggesting they wouldn't?
You're saying that Coke did indeed invent the modern Santa Claus despite them saying they didn't. What evidence do you have to support this claim?
> You're saying that Coke did indeed invent the modern Santa Claus despite them saying they didn't. What evidence do you have to support this claim?
I'm not saying anything of the sort. It's offensive for you to put words in my mouth.
I'm asking if the above user is trying to suggest that the Coca-Cola corporations wouldn't lie.
Coke says they didn't invent Santa. You say we should not believe them when they say that.
>Coke says they didn't invent Santa. You say we should not believe them when they say that.
What the FUUUUCK are you talking about? Who said they invented Santa clause?
>You say we should not believe them when they say that.
Where did I say that?
> What the FUUUUCK are you talking about? Who said they invented Santa clause?
You don't realize what thread you're in do you?
Bro you're arguing a troll just drop it
Why would they have any reason to lie about creating the neo-modern Sinterklaas*? This is flat earther levels of conspiracy
> Why would they have any reason to lie about creating santa clause?
People complain about the commodifying of Christmas all the time. It's really not crazy to think a company wouldn't want to be the go-to example.
(Also who the fuck said anything about "creating Santa clause")
>(Also who the fuck said anything about “creating Santa clause”)
The modern image of santa claus*. Thank you for being pedantic, I'm sure that was cathartic for you.
> People complain about the commodifying of Christmas all the time. It's really not crazy to think a company wouldn't want to be the go-to example.
>It’s really not crazy to think a company wouldn’t want to be the go-to example.
Of course its not, but why would coca-cola see themselves this way? I don't see much criticism of their supposed creation of what I have dubbed The Post-Modern Sinterklaas, though I have seen much nostalgia.
Last? Bro, asking the accused is the basis of justice. The accused can provide facts that support a defense or could be damning. You shouldn't make judgement calls on gut feelings.
Aah yes, big corporations never lied. Lmao
What do you think they are lying about in that link?
Not lying about one thing does not Change the fact that we should not trust them
And to add, the link from this trustworthy company does not say the same thing as the link from OP from the guardian.
But Please go ahead and gobble on coca cola propaganda as you wish
So... they're not lying? What was the point of your comment then?
This is a weird thing to get your panties in a twist about. Chill, it's just a story about a made up dude.
*I didn't see anything inherently contradictory in either articles
Coca Cola claims that there were many depictions before their ads, when it’s not true. If you read the guardian piece and compared what is on the Coca Cola website you would see the difference.
There were many depictions though...
German saint Nicholas (although similar) was skinny with a tall hat for instance. In Norway he wore green, in some English depictions he didn't have a white beard. It doesn't say they created the image, only that they popularized the image that is now what most people think of as Santa Claus. And they did by putting that image in all their advertising that was put everywhere.
My great grandma had a couple dozen Santa statues from all over the world, they varied quite a bit.
>Not lying about one thing does not Change the fact that we should not trust them
That's... not a very useful way of looking at things. Whether or not you trust what someone says should be based on a number of factors, their trustworthiness, sure, but also their motivations and what they would gain by telling the truth or lying.
Coca Cola would probably have a lot to gain by pushing the idea they invented the image of Santa Claus. The fact that it would so easily disprovable if they were to claim that they did is also another reason to expect them to be telling the truth in this instance.
That said they do seem to push the idea that they somehow solidified his appearance from a number of other depictions, which isn't really true, or at least they're vague enough in their wording to imply it without stating it. The modern image of Santa existed before Coca Cola began advertising.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/the-claus-that-refreshes/
>There was a period of overlap during which the modern Santa Claus character coexisted with other Christmas figures and other versions of himself, as his now-standard appearance and persona jelled and his character grew in popularity to become the dominant (secular) Christmas figure in the western world. However, that period had ended before Coca-Cola began utilizing Santa for their holiday season advertisements. As noted in a New York Times article published in 1927, four years before the appearance of Sundblom's first Santa-based Coca-Cola ad, the Santa Claus figure rendered by Sundblom was based upon what had already become the standard image of Santa:
>
>--
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>Coke's annual advertisements featuring Sundblom-drawn Santas holding bottles of Coca-Cola, drinking Coca-Cola, receiving Coca-Cola as gifts, and enjoying Coca-Cola became a perennial Christmastime feature which helped spur Coca-Cola sales throughout the winter (and produced the bonus effect of appealing quite strongly to children, an important segment of the soft drink market). One might therefore fairly grant Coca-Cola some credit for cementing the modern image of Santa Claus in the public consciousness, as in an era before the advent of television, before color motion pictures became common, and before the widespread use of color in newspapers, Coca-Cola's magazine advertisements, billboards, and point-of-sale store displays were for many Americans their primary exposure to the modern Santa Claus image. But at best what Coca-Cola popularized was an image they borrowed, not one they created.
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Sorry for trusting guardian more than coca cola. And as I wrote in the comment you replied they are not saying the same thing. Cocacola claims it popularized the santa claus in the current form, when guardian says that this form was almost in every portrayal in the XIX century.
Weird thing to get your parties in a twist just because someone does not trust your beloved corporation.
It says what the top comment in this thread said, like quite literally in the first 2 sentences. They said they didn’t invent Santa Clause but helped shape it. Taking a bunch of regional ideas and putting it into one character and because it was nation wide advertising that idea spread everywhere.
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