Santa's Disappearing Sleigh and Reindeer
Marketers are Providing Claus with More Modern Transportation
Dec 24, 2008
Marketers are producing and advertising a new fleet of vehicles to help Santa Claus make his annual Christmas trip from the North Pole. The movement, evident in the growing number of Christmas-decorated lawns, threatens to put Santa’s long-loved reindeer out to pasture.
The lawn decorations indicate that Claus is no longer restricted to a sleigh and those eight reindeer that have served him so well over the years. The numerous websites dedicated to marketing such decorations are offering the old fellow more modern transportation. They are also contributing to a lesser role for the reindeer.
Instead of showing the reindeer flying through the sky with Santa and his sleigh in tow, the marketers depict them quietly grazing the lawns, literally put out to pasture. And since most of them are made of wire and white lights, they probably have no need for Rudolph’s red nose anymore if they do take to the sky.
Penguin Deer
The sleigh and deer hang on in TV's "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer," but there are other signs that the reindeer are being replaced. One website advertises a sleigh being pulled by "penguin deer," which are penguins with antlers. Another sleigh, perhaps heading to Miami, is pulled by pink flamingos.
The reindeer era may have begun to fade in 2006 when the U.S. Dept. of Transporation, said Santa’s sleigh could run on a "clean, green quiet hydrogen fuel cell." That report came from HydrogenCarsNow.com.
Most of the new transportation comes in the form of huge colorful inflatables that can make lawns look like mini-Disney Worlds or minature Macy Thanksgiving parades.
Elf Pops from Caboose
There are trains which Santa drives with gifts packed into box cars. One is 14 feet long and an elf pops out of its caboose. The location of the train tracks from the North Pole is not disclosed. Perhaps Santa flies the sleigh and reindeer from the North Pole to some remote Canadian railroad terminal, where he transfers to a train for the remainder of the trip.
With air security now much tighter, it would certainly seem easier to enter the United States by something other than an airborne sleigh being pulled by a reindeer led by one with a shiny nose.
Marketers are also advertising a series of motorcycles for Santa, some identified as Santa "choppers," others as Harley-Davidsons. Some have sidecars for toys or elves. An animated one, designed for "serious Christmas enthusiasts," sells for $1,329.
Judging from his smile, Santa enjoys the bikes. However, since many children, and many of their fathers, would want him to leave the cycles as gifts, that could create a problem for him getting back to the North Pole.
John Deere Santa Tractors
Marketers are even advertising inflatable tractors to transport Santa Claus. One would think Santa would need something faster than a tractor, but then everyone can plainly see "deer" in the John Deere names printed on the vehicles.
The presence of Deere and Harley-Davidson indicates that marketers are carrying the product placement business from television to inflatable Christmas toys.
Surprisingly, there are no horse-drawn inflatable sleighs on the lawns, which would be a natural role for Budweiser’s Clydesdales.
Reindeer out for Pasture?
But the websites do advertise such alternative Santa vehicles as golf carts, sports cars, fire engines, stockcars with an elf pit crew and an airplane that sells for $2,299.
Unless the marketers change their focus, Santa’s sleigh may eventually be relegated to the museums. Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph already seem preoccupied with grazing those lawns.
References:
- "The Donner Party’s Over," Snopes.com, Dec. 22, 2008
- Shopzilla.com holiday-ornaments
- "Department of Transportation Certifies Santa’s Sleigh as FCV." Hydrogen Cars Now.com., Dec. 31, 2006
 |
