Wanna know how I know you didn’t read that? Because it doesn’t disagree with me. Coca Cola popularized the modern depiction of Santa Claus.

One might therefore fairly grant Coca-Cola some credit for cementing the modern image of Santa Claus in the public consciousness, as in an era before the advent of television, before color motion pictures became common, and before the widespread use of color in newspapers, Coca-Cola’s magazine advertisements, billboards, and point-of-sale store displays were for many Americans their primary exposure to the modern Santa Claus image. But at best what Coca-Cola popularized was an image they borrowed, not one they created.

Notice how I didn’t say they created it, nor did I say they invented it? I said they popularized it.