Article
How Santa brought Coca-Cola in from the cold
https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/stories/how-santa-brought-coca-cola-cold
Discussion Questions
- Are you familiar with Santa Claus? What image comes to mind when you hear someone mention Santa Claus?
- Were you aware that the modern image of Santa Claus was influenced by Coca Cola? Do you believe that it is a good thing that a company would use a holiday/cultural symbol to increase sales for their company?
- Coca Cola is also credited with helping popularise other Christmas traditions, such as A Charlie Brown Christmas, as well as other advertisement campaigns. What are some Christmas/winter traditions in Japan and how were they made popular?
- Christmas isn’t a traditional Japanese holiday. Do you remember when it was introduced to Japan and became more popular? What are your memories of when and how this holiday entered into Japanese culture?
- Oftentimes, the Coca Cola Santa is seen as a nostalgic image that brings to mind a positive image of the past. Recently in Japan, Showa nostalgia has become quite popular. What is something that is nostalgic from that era in Japan?
