Santa, Money and Ads

We don’t have money at the North Pole.

That’s not to say we’re broke. We just don’t use money.

There are no vending machines. No tips for servers. No coin laundries, no credit cards, and no red kettles for bell-ringing Santas.

Elves technically don’t make money.

Yes, there’s an elf union. And every now and then they make the local news to saying they are working on behalf of elves.

But let’s be truthful: without having wages to argue over what’s a union to do?

Really.

Truth is, we’re paid in eggnog and sugar cookies.

That’s because we don’t need money at the North Pole. In fact, we don’t need a lot of things.

You see, the North Pole is kind of a no man’s land. A lot of countries lay claim to the Arctic Region where the North Pole is: Denmark, Canada, Russia, the USA, just to name a few.

But none really have a flag planted here. There are no government facilities, no tax collectors, no police handing out tickets to speeding sleighs. None of that stuff.

Where there is no government, there is no money.

Wow, what a loaded statement, eh? Hahaha.

I bring all this up because there seems to be some sort of disconnect about Santa, money and advertising.

In your world where you live you see Santa as shaped by movies, music, the Internet, parents, community events and ads. Especially ads.

Over the years Santa has been used by all kinds of businesses, products and organizations in their ads.

Santa hates that. He hates it even for good products and good businesses.

It is not fair to him.

Santa, after all, is a person. He has feelings. He really does not appreciate it when a child sits on his lap and asks, “Santa, do you really eat Oreos?”

The truth, of course, is no, Santa does not eat Oreos. He does not like what they do to his teeth. And, frankly, being a man with many diverse tastes in cookies, Santa doesn’t cotton to being tied to just one brand.

If he came out and said he genuinely liked Oreos then that is what everyone would leave out for him on Christmas Eve (many do anyway). But can you imagine how awful Christmas Eve would be for Santa if all he got was a steady diet of Oreos?

But that is not why Santa doesn’t mention Oreos in any official way. He does not mention any particular brand of anything.

He does not endorse things. Not cookies, not clothes, not cars, not fertilizer and not any number of crazy things people out there SAY that Santa endorses.

He doesn’t do commercials.

And he has no interest in money.

None.

Santa is one big reason why we don’t have money at the North Pole. He hates the stuff.

But this is a persistent question from believers and elves everywhere, especially those tracker elves who work away from the North Pole.

Tracker elves are everywhere. They see ads and use money in the countries where they live.

When Santa comes to visit those countries he too deals with all the advertising and, if he wants a burger or something, he will need to use their money in order to get it.

Santa is a rule keeper. He’s got no problem keeping the rules and laws of the places he visits.

But where he calls home – the North Pole – there is no use for money.

There are ads, if I’m being honest here. We put them on the radio. But it is not the same as ads everywhere else. When we hear the ad for Elf Eggnog, for example, it isn’t so we can rush out and buy the stuff. It’s just to remind us that it’s there.

Our ads at the North Pole tend to be funny as well as informative. After all, what else to ad makers have to work for in their work here? To be funniest among the ads is a thing here because they cannot measure their success in sales. Nobody sells anything here.

But, that is not to say that money and ads do not have a place in the heart of Santa.

I want to make sure you understand this.

If Santa does endorse something it’s charity. He might speak up in support of a cause. He frequently will use speaking opportunities, community gatherings and other events to speak up in the cause of helping another person.

For example, Santa is a frequent supporter of Santa’s Sleigh, an organization dedicated to spreading a little Christmas cheer to individuals and families in need at Christmas. They are on many North Pole websites as a “sponsor”.

But it’s not a hard sell.

Products and stuff that bear the “official” North Pole endorsement are very few. Santa has to approve each one and his likeness is never used in promoting them. “Official” North Pole products are made to support Santa’s Sleigh.

We know that out there in the world, especially at Christmas, you are bombarded with ads and commercialization.

Santa does not approve.

If truth be told, most of you really don’t approve either.

Yes, Christmas shopping is fun. Giving gifts is fun. Receiving gifts is fun.

Christmas decorating, Christmas foods, Christmas events, Christmas entertainment all costs money.

But it doesn’t have to.

Look at the North Pole. We do all that stuff and never spend a dime.

Your world, we know, is different. Santa understands.

But he wants you to understand that none of that comes from him. Christmas is about loving and serving others. “Others” does not necessarily mean the profiteers.

It’s okay not to spend. It is okay to decorate with items laying around the house, colored in crayon and taped together. It is okay to make things by hand. Sometimes giving less is giving more.

That’s what Santa officially endorses.

Now, no doubt this post is going to raise some questions in your mind. There are differences between the North Pole and where you live.

That’s okay. Ask your questions.

Just don’t ask Santa to endorse anything. He won’t do it and isn’t interested in the profits.

About this Elf: Elf Ed Zachary

Elf Ed Zachary is Director of News at the North Pole. He oversees all North Pole news outlets - newspapers, websites, radio and television stations.

Ed Zachary has been a force in North Pole journalism for decades, having served for years as a columnist for the North Pole Gazette. He is known as the Defender of Santa Claus, taking on all doubters and scoffers of Santa and his Christmas effort.

As part of his news duties Elf Ed Zachary contributes "news about the news" at the North Pole for the Santa Tracker Herald Star.