I was raised in a Jewish household, so Christmas was not celebrated. I used to look wistfully at the beautiful Christmas decorations, think about the cookie baking marathons, and go to our fireplace every Christmas morning hoping that Santa had left us something…he didn’t. There is one Christmas memory that rises above all the others, The Norelco Santa commercial.

The Norelco Santa ad first ran in 1961 and appeared in black and white. It was rather crude but the Santa riding on the electric razor was enough to get everyone’s attention. As a young girl I knew little about the Norelco brand, and I really did not need an electric shaver, yet the TV spot remains imprinted on my mind. Not only was it fun to watch, it was a new kind of animation that many had not seen before.

The TV spot was so successful that it was updated several times to add additional products and to take advantage of color TV. In 1994 the commercial was remade with a more up to date Santa, better animation, and more scenes of Santa frolicking through the snow. While viewers continued to watch their sets for the first Christmas viewing of Santa, it seems that Santa’s job was on the line.

In his book, Santa Claus: A Biography, author Gerry Bowler notes, “Santa’s job as adman was not secure. Norelco electric shavers had employed Santa Claus in its Christmas ads for years. “Norelco,” the ads would chirp. Unfortunately this presentation seemed to suggest to viewers that the company was in the toy business and so in 1986 Santa was dumped in favour of a manly looking fellow shaving to the slogan “We made close comfortable…” The result? Sales boomed and the company expressed no regret making its loyal, old employee redundant. His appearance was a classic example of how an advertisement could be popular without being effective. “Santa Claus advertising at best created a cute, warm, image for the brand, but nothing else.”

After  Philips decided to subsitute Santa with a new ad, the company was besieged by letters from loyal fans wondering why Santa had been replaced. For six years viewers, like me, felt as if something was missing from the pre-holiday TV fare. In 2002, the company realized that they had made a mistake and Santa was reintroduced. This year finds the Norelco commercial hipper and more contemporary with better production values.

And my eyes will probably gloss over while it is on. It’s missing the nostalgia for a simpler time and the magic of animation is magic no more. I highly doubt that kids watching this commercial today will remember it years from now, but not due to any Norelco missteps. It is a different time, a totally different world, and the black and white jerkily animated Kris Kringle has to be put out to pasture. Still, for this non-Christian, Norelco will always symbolize the fun, beauty, and magic of the holiday season.