An Iris Christmas

Arguably the best part about Christmas is the parties.

I mean sure there is all the Jesus stuff and the food and the presents, but I've always been partial to the parties.

That being said, yesterday Iris gave me a new standard of Christmas parties, when Iris says "be better" they really mean it. [beware future Christmases]

Let's start with rubbing it in to all my friends in the Northern Hemisphere that Christmas happens to be in summer here - so, that already makes for a better party - a little less parka a little more swimmers. Deal, sign me up.

So for the party yesterday (Monday) we were told to dress James Bond themed and the rest was a surprise. We got out of the cabs to find that they had chartered a boat for us and all we had to do was cruise around the harbour all day - that's a hell of a Monday.

There are definite perks to being a small agency - here we all are [with a few missing] Although the joke for the day was that we are going to need a much bigger boat next year.


Getting into the Bond theme. [I totally won]




Relaxing with a couple drinks. Definitely a great day.

Santa - just another advertisement

Don't tell the kids, but Santa is just another advertisement.

Hear me out, this is not one of those "we've lost the true meaning of Christmas" - this is about the power of advertising.

Picture Santa. Odds are you see a jolly [chubby] man, rosy cheeks, big red suit, and black boots. Until yesterday, I had never thought about why Santa is this way, when did he evolve from St. Nick to the jolly man that we all picture, and who gets credit for this?

The answer [or, at least one theory] is Coca-Cola. In 1931, Coca-Cola began running magazine ads featuring St. Nick as a "kind, jolly man in a red suit." Before that, Santa was a range of characters. So, why did Coca-Cola's Santa stick? The power of advertising. In the 30s the viewership of the magazines featuring Coke's Santa was wide-spread [rumor is they didn't have the internets back then.] And perhaps without being aware of it, this began to shape North America's image of Santa.

Coke may have also introduced elves to Santa's lore. In the 40s and 50s Santa appeared with a little helper, Sprite Boy. Sprite, the soft drink was not yet introduced [and wouldn't be for another decade.] Sprite actually means elf.
Coke is not willing to take full credit for Santa [nor should they, I suppose.] Check out their article here which fully explains Coca-Cola's Santa.

Full credit aside, it seems impossible to deny the impact that Coke had on the modern-day Santa. Even if Coke just influenced Santa, or was just a part of the mix that created the image that we all grew up with, that is still an amazing credit to the power of advertising.