Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. But no, The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) did not invent him.

It's hard to argue that Coke's advertising over the years hasn't left a large imprint on the American psyche. It's one of the America's signature brands, after all. The Real Thing. Indeed, it's long been rumored that Coke was behind the jolly red and white suit worn by Santa Claus.

Artist Haddon Sundblom was commissioned to create a large, jovial, pink-cheeked Santa for Coca-Cola ads. He did, and that image of Santa ran in 42 ads on billboards and in magazines from 1931 to
1964, cementing the image of a red-and-white-clad Santa for several generations of Americans.

Coke conspiracy theorists point out that in the 19th century, Saint Nick was a leaner, rather dour fellow, who in fact was often depicted in greens and browns. The rumor that corporate Coke had created our image of Santa Claus has been circulating on the internets for several years. But Coca-Cola denies it had accomplished anything so insidious, although on its own website, the company admits that the modern-day image of Santa Claus was shaped largely thanks to its holiday-season advertising campaigns over the years.

"The fact that red was our corporate color was just a happy coincidence," Coca-Cola archivist Phil Mooney told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The fact that millions of us can easily conjure up a Jolly Santa holding a frosty bottle of Coke is simply brand marketing at it's very finest.