Historic ads featuring Santa Claus

General Mills features four eras of Santa advertisements in video series

Every year around the holidays, Santa Claus is utilized in advertising in a variety of ways.

Jolly Old St. Nicholas has been featured in advertising for some of General Mills' biggest brands — such as Gold Medal Flour, Cheerios, Betty Crocker and Pillsbury.

Santa first dashed into General Mills advertising for a Gold Medal Flour ad in 1914. He also spread holiday cheer to Cheerioats fans in a comic-style print ad in 1941, after the cereal made its debut (the name was changed to Cheerios in 1945).

In the spirit of giving, Santa was used in Betty Crocker’s 1951 “This Year Give Food” campaign, which encouraged people to bake gifts for the holidays.

Santa also rolled into Pillsbury print advertising with the Doughboy in 1970 (they also are featured together in a TV spot this year.

The latest episode of the “Inside the General Mills Archives” video series is decked out with more details about four of the company's favorite eras of Santa advertising.

See how Santa has appeared in General Mills advertising over the years

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