Santa Claus does more than deliver toys: Advertising's commercialization of the collective memory of Americans

This paper explores the role that advertising plays in shaping the collective memory of Americans by investigating the sources of the image of Santa Claus. Specifically, Coca‐Cola's claim to the modern‐day image of Santa Claus is juxtaposed with other sources of the image t(discuss the viability of attributing the image to just one source. The paper also discusses how marketing processes, specifically advertising, reflect, create, and shape the collective memory and cultural meaning of images. The paper concludes by examining the consequences of the commercialization of collective memory.

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* Assistant Professor, Department of Marketing and Distribution, University of Georgia, 148 Brooks Hall, Terry College of Business, Athens, GA 30602–6258. Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone].

** Assistant Professor, Department of Marketing, Bowling Green State University, 249 College of Business Administration, Bowling Green, OH 43403. Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone]; E‐mail: [email protected]

*** Nathan Gold Professor of Marketing, University of Nebraska 310 CBA, P.O. Box 880492, Lincoln, NE 68588–0492. Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone]; E‐mail: [email protected]