UPDATED 26.12. Is Santa Claus becoming an overworked seasonal jack-of-all-trades?

Does the Stripping Santa meet ministry guidelines? Is the brand in danger?

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By Ritva Liisa Snellman
     
      According to the "Santa Claus ABC" (Joulupukin aapinen) drafted by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Santa dresses in garb made of natural fibres, favours a costume in a slightly broken shade of red, and is always friendly, wise, and good-natured.
      This, at least, is what we Finns tend to believe, but in the wider world things are rather differently managed.
     
Over the past month, the international press-photo agencies have been churning out images in which Father Christmases, Kris Kringles, and Santas wrapped in garish ill-fitting outfits made of red polyester run charity half-marathons with their beards dangling precariously south-west-by-west, or take part in swimming competitions, go surfing, or scuba-dive in marine parks for the delectation of the seasonal visitors.
      The cheery ambassador of Yuletide goodwill has become the entertainment professional of the final month in the calendar, for whom nothing is off-limits, even raunchy adult entertainment. A photo taken at the Erotic Christmas Market in Hamburg's famous red-light district of St. Pauli shows a beaming Santa posing alongside two bodacious and scantily-clad little helperettes.
     
But this is shocking! Awful! Millions of cheap copies of the Great Man are eroding Santa's credibility and destroying a long and illustrious career.
      Not so, says Professor Mai Anttila, of the Department of Marketing and Management at the Helsinki School of Economics. "Santa Claus is such a strong brand that it can withstand this kind of jokey assault. Even the Porno-Santa is quite sweet - the adult viewer just giggles at him."
     
The Santa Claus brand image has been built up and nurtured over 1,700 years.
      The figure derives from an old saint's tale - St. Nicholas of Myra - which spread westwards from the Byzantine province of Anatolia and picked up local ingredients on its travels.
      It took on its current established form in 1931. In that year Coca-Cola hired an American artist, Haddon Sundblom (1899-1976), to create a character that would enable the soft drinks company to boost sales of its primary product during the winter season, and indirectly to draw in children.
      Haddon Sundblom, by the way, was a second-generation Finn. His father hailed from the island of Föglö in the Åland Islands, before they all moved West to Michigan.
     
Sundblom drew a chubby, bucolic Santa with a red tunic with white fleecy collar and cuffs, rosy cheeks, and a jolly demeanour.
      This became the model for the commercial Santas who ply their trade in shopping malls across the globe, even in countries where the traditional Christmas celebrations do not naturally belong.
      Anttila speaks admiringly of the Coca-Cola choice of colours. "Red shows up well in the media. Orange would have been just as good, and that is why it became the colour favoured by revolutionary movements. Nobody would bother to give a second look to a Father Christmas dressed in green."
     
In just the same way as the wrapper for the distinctive Fazer Blue chocolate bar every so often gets a facelift, Santa Claus gets modernised to accommodate new generations. The clothing can change in some way, or the behaviour-patterns can be loosened up a little.
      "It would be pretty difficult to actually destroy the Santa Claus brand. Fundamentalists have continually been doing their best to bring him down, but they have not succeeded", says Anttila.
      "Santa is a product for the ages, and he will spread to Mars and the Moon when man gets up there."
     
So, Santa Claus can strip off and clown around without unduly endangering his reputation, apparently. Still, just in case, let's get a second opinion.
      Brand researcher Dr. Kirsti Lindberg-Repo, who teaches on the Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration's MBA programme, believes Santas should be divided into two categories, with different prognoses for each.
      The commercial Santas jump through hoops in order to attract the attention of customers or passers-by. Then there is the real Santa Claus, the one whom the Finns have sought to build into an international branded product and goodwill ambassador. The Finnish version brings revenue to Lapland, but as a product he is still only semi-complete.
      Lindberg-Repo does not see the genuine-article Santa disappearing anywhere, but she is less confident about the future for the commercial variants. Santa Claus brings a certain visibility, yes, but if the aim is simply to increase consumption, the customer may get bored and sated.
     
A new phenomenon is already hinting at this: the so-called SantaCons, mass semi-anarchic gatherings of people in cheap Santa outfits, which have been arranged since 1994 in large cities around the world.
      The idea is spreading fast and has already reached Helsinki. There are certain rules on attandees: only a cheapo-cheapo costume is acceptable. Beards are obligatory only for the men.
      The purpose of these outdoor flash-mob events, which bring in hundreds of participants, is to have a good time, to make fun of the commercial aspects of Christmas, sing bawdy songs and carols, cause some good-natured mayhem, and boost takings at the town's bars.
      Lindberg-Repo likewise does not believe that this "Red Menace" pranksterism will erode the real Santa's authority.
     
Every age-cohort has its own expectations, and people want to find some kind of contact with Christmas that relates to their own personal life-situation.
      At a boisterous singles' theme-night with wacky Santa outfits, the approach to Christmas is different from that of the idyll of the nuclear family sitting around the tree and the log fire.
      "Besides, there is always going to be a need for the real Santa Claus", argues Lindberg-Repo. "The Christmas season is getting longer all the time."
      "In the States it already lasts two and a half months."
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 24.12.2006


Links:
  Santa feeds the fish in Kuala Lumpur (courtesy of the BBC)
  Saucy SantaCon photos on FlickR
  A Finnish Christmas Classic: Rare Exports (YouTube)
  Origins of Santa Claus (Wikipedia)
  SantaCon (Wikipedia)

RITVA LIISA SNELLMAN / Helsingin Sanomat
ritva.liisa.snellman@hs.fi