Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: A Promotional Gimmick: Big Pic
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Dec. 21, 2010 -- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer first appeared in 1939 when the Montgomery Ward department store asked one of its copywriters, 34-year-old Robert L. May, to create a Christmas story the store could give away to shoppers as a promotional gimmick.
The retailer had been buying and giving away coloring books for Christmas every year; and it was decided that creating its own book would save money. In the first year of publication, 2.4 million copies of Rudolph's story were distributed by Montgomery Ward.
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May's brother-in-law, songwriter Johnny Marks, decided to adapt the story of Rudolph into song. Marks' musical version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was recorded by Gene Autry in 1949.
According to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, smaller department stores used holiday displays to burnish their reputations and made the downtown shopping district the place to be. In cities large and small, Christmas displays became destinations for family outings, while reinforcing the stores' identity as a leading retail institutions.
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Content and photo provided by Smithsonian
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