00:00From our family to yours, we wish you a
00:03Ho Ho Ho! Happy Christmas Season!
00:08Christmas is a time filled with magic.
00:10And right in the middle of it all is Santa Claus,
00:13that jolly guy in the red suit bringing joy and presents
00:17to the good boys and girls every year.
00:21But have you ever stopped to think,
00:23where did our Santa come from?
00:26And did Coca-Cola invent him?
00:30It is a fascinating story, and the answer might surprise you.
00:36Now for those of you who don't know us, I'm Realtor Scott Garrison.
00:40And I'm Realtor Diana Zacotto with Rimac Standard Country,
00:44Orlando's number one real estate company.
00:47We've been lucky enough to live and work in this amazing community
00:50for over 35 years.
00:51And over that time, you hear a lot of interesting stories
00:54and the tale of Santa Claus and Coca-Cola
00:57is one that often pops up this time of year.
01:00So believe it or not, the real story of Santa Claus
01:03goes way back, all the way to the 4th century.
01:06We're talking about a Christian bishop named St. Nicholas.
01:11He lived in what now is Turkey.
01:14And he was famous for his incredible kindness and generosity,
01:20especially towards children.
01:22Over the centuries, the story of St. Nicholas spread,
01:26and he became a symbol.
01:28A symbol of giving, a symbol of the spirit of Christmas
01:31in many different cultures.
01:33Each country kind of put their own spin on him,
01:36giving him different names and even different looks.
01:39Fast forward to 1823, a poem was published called
01:46A Visit from St. Nicholas.
01:49You probably know it is better as
01:52T'was the Night Before Christmas.
01:56This poem was written by Clement Clark Moore,
02:00and it really started to solidify the image of Santa
02:03as we recognize today.
02:04He was described as a plump, jolly man with a long white beard,
02:09traveling in a sleigh, pulled by, that's right,
02:13eight tiny reindeer, delivering presents on Christmas Eve.
02:17The poem was hugely popular
02:19and really captured the people's imagination.
02:22One of the things that's hard to get is
02:23we think that he was describing a Christmas legend
02:27and putting in a poem.
02:29He was making it up for the first time,
02:32and when we heard it, everyone said,
02:34ah, of course that's Santa Claus,
02:36when the year before, it wasn't.
02:38He actually made Santa Claus like we think of now.
02:43In the night before Christmas poem,
02:47Santa was described as follows.
02:50And you've all heard this.
02:51You recognize it.
02:53He was dressed all in fur,
02:55from his head to his foot,
02:57and his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
03:00A bundle of toys he held on his back,
03:02and he looked like a peddler,
03:04just opening his pack.
03:05His eyes, how they twinkled.
03:07His dimples, how merry.
03:09His cheeks were like roses.
03:11His nose, like a cherry.
03:13His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
03:16and the beard on his chin was as white as the snow.
03:19The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
03:22and the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath.
03:25He had a broad face and a little round belly
03:28that shook when he laughed,
03:29like a bowl full of jelly.
03:32He was chubby and plump,
03:34a right jolly old elf.
03:35And I laughed when I saw him in spite of myself.
03:39A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
03:42soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.
03:45Now, this is where Coca-Cola's story truly mixed
03:51with the legend of Santa Claus.
03:55It wasn't about inventing the jolly old elf
03:57who had roots in various traditions long before,
04:00but rather about a strategic and artistic endeavor
04:04to boost winter sales.
04:06It's all about the money.
04:07In 1931, recognizing a seasonal dip
04:10in Coca-Cola beverage consumption,
04:12the four thinking executives at Coca-Cola Company
04:16embarked on a mission to connect their product
04:19with the warmth and spirit of the holiday season.
04:22To achieve this, they sought the talent
04:24of the remarkable commercial artist named Haddon Sunbloom.
04:29Sunbloom wasn't just any illustrator.
04:32He was famous.
04:33He possessed a keen ability to evoke emotion
04:35and create relatable characters.
04:38Coca-Cola commissioned him to create a Santa Claus
04:41for their winter advertising campaigns.
04:45A Santa that was both wholesome and undeniably human.
04:50Drawing inspiration from Clement Clark Moore's 1822 poem,
04:53A Visit from St. Nicholas, that we just talked about,
04:56Sunbloom crafted a definitive visual representation of Santa
05:01that resonated deeply with the public
05:04and continues to shape our perception today.
05:06In other words, he looked at everything,
05:08including a visit from St. Nick,
05:10and he drew pictures and ads of Santa Claus.
05:14And as soon as we saw that, again, we said,
05:16no, that's Santa Claus.
05:18Imagine the impact of Sunbloom's artwork.
05:23He painted Santa not as an stern, angelic figure,
05:28but as a round, jovial man with a full snow-white beard
05:34that spoke of wisdom and good cheer.
05:38His cheeks were rosy and inviting,
05:41hinting at good health and laughter with a twinkle in his eye,
05:45all while drinking his favorite Coca-Cola.
05:47This suggested a playful and knowing spirit.
05:50And of course, there was that warm, infectious smile
05:53that makes you instantly feel at ease.
05:57Significantly, Sunbloom consistently dressed as Santa
06:00in a bright, cheerful, red suit,
06:04a color that, while associated with Santa before,
06:07became forever linked to this friendly depiction
06:10and perhaps coincidentally to Coca-Cola's own iconic branding,
06:15the red in Coke, the red in Santa.
06:17Sunbloom's Santa Claus was nothing short of a phenomenon.
06:24He graced Coca-Cola advertisements year after year,
06:30becoming a long fixture throughout the 1930s, 1940s,
06:37and well beyond even continuing into the mid-1960s.
06:43This consistent and heartwarming portrayal
06:46appearing in magazines, on billboards, in print ads,
06:51did more than just sell soda.
06:53It deeply ingrained this specific image of Santa
06:58in the collective consciousness of Americans
07:00and around the world,
07:01millions and millions of people across the globe.
07:04He transformed into the friendly, happy, red-suited Santa
07:08that we all recognize and cherish.
07:10By the mid-20th century, for a significant portion of the population,
07:18the image of Santa Claus and the Coca-Cola brand
07:22had become totally linked in a powerful and enduring association.
07:29So, Deanna and I went to Atlanta recently,
07:32and I dragged her to the World of Coca-Cola Museum
07:35in Olympic Park in Atlanta, against her will,
07:39where we saw they have a surprisingly small section
07:42about Haddon's Sunbloom
07:44and his illustrations of Santa Claus over the years,
07:46and that inspired this video.
07:50So, did Coca-Cola invent Santa Claus?
07:53The answer is no.
07:55The tradition goes way back to St. Nicholas
07:59and was shaped by stories and poems.
08:03But what Coca-Cola, and especially Haddon's Sunbloom, did
08:08was give us the look that's instantly recognized across the globe.
08:14Their marketing turned Santa into a true global icon
08:19that everyone around the world instantly recognizes the same Santa.
08:23It's a symbol of Christmas that goes far beyond just selling soda.
08:27So, I hope you found that little bit of history interesting,
08:34and it's amazing how these stories evolve over the time.
08:39Thanks for taking this journey with us.
08:41And, you know, just like the story of Santa,
08:43the story of our community here in East Orlando is always unfolding.
08:47If you have any real estate questions,
08:49or even if you have your own memories of seeing Santa,
08:51maybe even with a bottle of Coke, feel free to reach out.
08:54We'd love to hear from you.
08:56I would love connecting with you all and hearing your experiences.
09:00You can comment below.
09:02And as Santa Claus said in the night before Christmas in 1823,
09:08But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
09:12Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.
09:17I'm top Orlando Realtor Scott Garrison.
09:20And I am Realtor Diana Zagotto with Remanx Stanton Country,
09:24Orlando's number one real estate company.
09:27Ho, ho, ho.
09:29I've lived and grew up here for 45 years.
09:32I went to the local Winter Park High School.
09:34I studied at the University of Central Florida.
09:36And I've been selling real estate right here,
09:39full-time in Central Florida every day for over 35 years.
09:43From a forever home for your family to rental properties and vacant land
09:50and everything in between.
09:53We know this area like you count on.
09:56As the experienced realtors you already know.
09:59I'm in a hotel.
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10:01Okay.
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10:03We're still in a hotel.
10:04Follow me now.
10:04Quiet on your behalf.
10:05Yes, ma'am.
10:07Ma'am.
10:08We at the hospital.
10:09We are still in a hotel.
10:12la'am in terms of the house.
10:13We are still in our house.
10:17是啊.
10:18Yes, ma'am.
10:21Sara is with the house.
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10:22The politicians and especially bench,
10:24them come in for the house.
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10:26Okay.
10:27Thomas Murphy,
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