Santa Claus first appeared in the Coca-Cola commercials during the 1920s, but his image, as we know it today, appeared only a decade later, in 1931, after Coca-Cola hired the illustrator Haddon Sundblom. He used the poem wrote by Clement Clark Moore, “A Visit From St. Nicholas” (commonly known as “Twas the Night Before Christmas") and he painted Santa for 33 years, some of his paintings being displayed in prestigious museums such as Louvre, and one of them reached even Tokyo, being displayed at the Isetan Department Store.

Today, the Coca-Cola Santa is undoubtedly the most famous Santa version, and I found his even on the streets of Tokyo, in Roppongi, on this Coca-Cola bus…

Coca-Cola Santa Bus, Minato, Tokyo

EXIF Info:

Yesterday’s Japan Photo: Good luck charms for the New Year, Daruma Dolls