Wednesday, December 11, 2024
“Santa and Rudolph: Brought to you by —”
Thank goodness for commercial advertising. If it weren’t for the deep pockets of major companies like Coca-Cola and Montgomery Ward, we might not know so much about Santa and Rudolph. In 1931, the Coca-Cola company convinced Santa to allow them to use his image in their advertising. Witnessing Coca-Cola’s success with Santa, Montgomery Ward added Rudolph to lead their advertising campaigns beginning in 1939.
Since that time, we’ve learned a lot about Santa and Rudolph. They are fixtures in our thoughts and dreams of Christmas, but if it weren’t for the ingenuity of those two corporate sponsors, we might have very different images of Santa and Rudolph.
During sporting events I see athletes advertising all kinds of things for various retailers, networks, and organizations. I already know that these athletes often make more money from advertising than they do from their employer (the Team). I also noticed that sporting arenas are no longer named for communities. Instead, their names come from the corporate sponsors who paid enough money to make it happen.
But who really benefits? Do Santa and Rudolph benefit from all their advertising? When Gene Autry recorded Rudolph’s theme song in 1949, did Rudolph receive a nice royalty check? Probably not, as many of our most popular characters probably signed away their own images and advertising rights long before the big money arrived. I know Gene Autry benefitted when he sang “Rudolph.” The song became the number 1 hit of 1949 and the song’s ranking continued well into 1950. But did Gene Autry really gain that much and did Rudolph see any of it?
I know this: If it weren’t for our culture’s infatuation with Christmas, I wouldn’t have a full sanctuary on Christmas Eve. Christmas lights wouldn’t be nearly as big of a deal and my memories of Christmas parades and festivals would probably not exist. I think corporate sponsorship of Christmas is actually important (from a Faith perspective) because it draws people in towards the reality of a perfect, pure, and tangible LORD our God.
Corporations are involved in Christmas because they know their survival rests upon something bigger than them. Christmas is not just a Faith Holiday to them, nor is it only the “Believers” God is trying to help. God is using corporate influence in all kinds of ways during the Holidays to reach people in some really dark places.
Yes, Christmas is a cultural phenomenon. Because of corporate sponsors who are spending tons of money on advertising, sales, and characterizations, the sharing of Christmas is made much easier for the rest of us.
If you’re looking for some pointers, think about this: If they don’t know Jesus, consider starting with Santa. Then move to Rudolph, and finally, tell them why all this is happening: God created Christmas as a gift for the whole world for all time!
“God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:17, CEB)