Here at Poppy PR, we’re big fans of Christmas. In fact, even at the time of writing, our MD Tina is paying a visit to the holiday’s homeland, Lapland!
We’re even bigger fans of marketing and PR though (well, we’ve got to say that, haven’t we?), and it’s fascinating to understand exactly how these two have built the Yuletide season into the commercial behemoth it has become.
In fact, many of our best-loved traditions, characters and customs are the results of very clever campaigns over the last 200 years or so. Here are some of our favourites!
A very jolly marketing ploy
Of course, we have to start with the big man himself! Did you know though that, contrary to popular belief, the international brand Coca-Cola did not invent Father Christmas? Over centuries, the man was depicted in many different outfits and colours, and Coca-Cola even used him in their advertising in the 1920s – albeit as a much stricter version of the fun-loving gentleman we know and love today.
In 1931, the version of Father Christmas that we are now all familiar with was born. Coca-Cola commissioned illustrator Haddon Sundblom to create an image of Santa adorned in a velvety red suit with a white fur trim, a thick beard and a jolly face. Many believe that Santa is wearing red because of the brand colours of Coca-Cola, but that is in fact not true – he had been depicted wearing the warm shade many times before.
There is no doubt though, that without Coca-Cola’s clever marketing, our festive seasons would look very different and Christmas would possibly be a more solemn affair – so thank you Coca-Cola!
Red-nosed retail
Other members of Santa’s team haven’t been immune to marketing ploys either. In fact, one important member was created entirely as a very successful campaign by a department store.
The most well-known and best-loved member of Santa’s team is arguably Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer… but did you know he was actually created less than 100 years ago?
Back in the 1930s, US department store Montgomery Ward & Co. gave away colouring books to entice children and their parents into the shop over Christmas. In 1939, the company decided to produce the books themselves to cut down costs and store employee Robert May devised a poem about Rudolph.
The underdog character won hearts across the globe and Rudolph’s popularity grew exponentially, until he became the worldwide success story that we all know.
One happy sidenote to the story is that Montgomery Ward actually gave the rights of Rudolph to creator Robert May when he was financially struggling after the passing of his wife. Robert became a millionaire overnight – a perfect Christmas story.
Grab a bucket of chicken… at Christmas?
While many people in the UK will be happily tucking into a delicious roast turkey dinner with all the trimmings over the festive period, in Japan the order of the day is a bucket of chicken from fast-food restaurant KFC.
With no long-standing Christmas traditions of their own, combined with a lack of availability of turkey, the Japanese took a liking to fried chicken as an alternative.
Then, back in 1974, KFC hit upon a very clever marketing campaign which has lasted to this day. The ‘KFC for Christmas’ campaign gave the Japanese a surprising tradition all of their own.
Since the 1970s, the trend has skyrocketed – in fact, for a family to chow down on a bucket of chicken over the Christmas period, they often have to order it two months in advance!
Deck the halls with boughs of holly (and whatever else makes you some money!)
We may think of Christmas trees and their ornaments as having fundamentally religious or traditional roots, but the reality is that many of these have also sprung from retail and marketing backgrounds.
Take the Christmas tree itself. The popularity of these festive staples in the UK really took off in the 1840s when the most widely read magazine of the time, Godey’s Lady’s Book, depicted an image of Queen Victoria and her children crowded around a tree. Victorians then clamoured to be the first to follow in her royal footsteps and get a tree of their own. It is widely, and perhaps incorrectly, believed that Queen Victoria’s consort, Prince Albert, who was of German descent, introduced Christmas trees to England. In fact, Queen Charlotte, the German wife of King George III actually set up the first known tree in 1800. It is believed the Germans invented the Christmas tree tradition in the 16thCentury.
Nevertheless, shops and department stores in Victorian England and beyond recognised an amazing business opportunity to entice shoppers inside by decorating their stores for the season – an aesthetic that is still very much twinkling brightly!
Entrepreneurs also used the season to shine a spotlight on their new inventions and wares. A German printer named Louis Prang invented a new colour printing technology and realised that he could create the perfect market to showcase his invention by making Christmas cards.
Even baubles have their heritage in entrepreneurship. The first decorated trees were adorned with apples, pastries and white candy canes, until glass baubles were created (you guessed it, in Germany!). In the 1880s, American businessman F. W. Woolworth discovered these baubles and made a fortune importing them into America.
There’s no doubt that PR and marketing has shaped the world around us – and Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without the hard work and creativity of the industry. Well cheers to that!
