This even bothers me, and I’m Jewish

Seen recently in a Harry and David catalog (emphasis mine):

Nothing builds the Christmas brand like Santa’s big, beaming countenance, spreading his unique charm and plenty of holiday cheer throughout the kitchen or family room.

The Christmas brand? Really? I know its been commercialized past all recognition, but isn’t Christmas supposed to mean something? And don’t even get me started on how this catalog arrived just days after Halloween. Five years from now I’m expecting the first Christmas catalogs on the Fourth of July.

As a graphic designer, one of the things I’m often called on to do is “build a brand.” This usually includes a logo, stationery, advertising, a brochure, a web site, and more. I went to an interesting conference a couple of years ago about branding that was very persuasive that a brand also should include the behavior of the company or organization, both internally and to the greater community. Branding gives a company a cohesive look, a united presence, that makes it easy to identify. Hopefully it also leads to increased sales and higher profits. Is this something Christmas really needs? Maybe, maybe, individual companies could argue that they need to brand themselves for more Christmas sales. Christmas itself does not need to be branded. And the “Santa brand” just seems like a bad idea. Could there possibly be more street corner Santas, mall photo op Santas, TV commercial Santas, and holiday party Santas? Not to mention Santa t-shirts, jewelry, dolls, books, magnets, figurines, hats… It already feels a little obscene.

Too many years ago to mention I was in my high-school choir, and one of the annual concerts we gave was the Christmas Eve midnight mass in a local church (the particular flavor of church I don’t remember — did I mention I’m Jewish? ) What I do remember was the sense of ceremony and beauty as people came together to celebrate and worship. I left empty handed, though. I guess that church was missing the true branding opportunity of Christmas. I’m sure a nice Santa keychain would have left a real lasting impression. Perhaps a tote bag.