Haddon Sundblom

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Haddon Sundblom , also Haddon Hubbard "Sunny" Sundblom (born June 22, 1899 in Muskegon / Michigan , † March 10, 1976 in Chicago ) was an American graphic artist and cartoonist . He was best known for his pictures of Santa Claus , which he created for the Coca-Cola Company .

origin

Sundblom grew up in a Swedish speaking family. His father, Karl Wilhelm Sundblom, came from Föglö, a village on the Swedish-speaking Åland Islands (at the time part of the Russian Grand Duchy of Finland, now Finland ), his mother Karin Andersson was from Sweden . Sundblom graduated from the American Academy of Art .

Coca-Cola Santa Claus

In the 1920s, the representation of Santa Claus in the USA was more and more standardized with red and white robes, hats and white beards. This picture was picked up by Haddon Sundblom, who drew Santa Claus for the Coca-Cola Company in 1931 as part of an advertising campaign; according to his own statements in the shape and appearance of his friend and older Coca-Cola delivery driver Lou Prentiss. After his death, Sundblom is said to have painted his own face with the help of a mirror. The advertisement was so successful that this Santa look is mistakenly attributed to Coca-Cola. Until 1964 he drew at least one Santa Claus for the Coca-Cola advertisement every year and thus shaped the concept of the “modern” Santa Claus.

More work

As part of his activities in the advertising industry, he created illustrations for Colgate-Palmolive , Nabisco , Packard , Buick and Pierce-Arrow, among others . Sundblom also designed the "Quaker Man" for Quaker Oats . He also designed the Sprite Boy mascot for Coca-Cola, which appeared in print ads in the 1940s and 1950s. In the mid-1930s he started painting pin-ups for calendars. Sundblom had a great influence on many famous artists such as Gil Elvgren . Sundblom's last published work was the cover art for the Playboy Christmas edition in 1972 .

literature

  • Dream of Santa: Haddon Sundblom's Advertising Paintings for Christmas, 1931-1964 . Gramercy Books, New York 1992, ISBN 0-517-18655-1 .

Web links

swell

  1. ^ Coke Lore: The History of the Modern Day Santa Claus
  2. ↑ Myth of Coca-Cola - Coca-Cola & Christmas ( Memento of the original from December 24, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 269 kB)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.coca-cola-gmbh.de
  3. ↑ Quaker Oats design
  4. ^ Sketches of the Sprite Boy
  5. ↑ Sundblom's last Santa
personal data
SURNAME Sundblom, Haddon
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sundblom, Haddon Hubbard (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American pin-up and advertising artist
DATE OF BIRTH June 22, 1899
PLACE OF BIRTH Muskegon , Michigan
DATE OF DEATH March 10, 1976
Place of death Chicago