圣诞季到了，圣诞老人很忙……

It’s only two weeks to Christmas, one of the most important festivals in countries such as the US and the UK. Santa Claus is coming – the big, jolly man in a red suit with a white beard who is said to give gifts to children around the world.

还有两周就要到圣诞节了，对英美等国来说，圣诞节是一大重要节日。 据说，这个留着白胡子，穿着红衣服，高大又快乐的老人会给世界各地的孩子们送去礼物。

But whether you can meet him or not, chances are that you will see him in an ad. After all, Christmas is a good chance for brands to promote their products. One famous Santa ad that US people remember is the classic Coca-Cola image of 1954, which has Santa Claus enjoying a “gift for his thirst” – a bottle of coke – while he takes a break and puts down his sack of toys.

但不论你是否会亲眼见到圣诞老人，你都很有可能会在广告里看到他。毕竟，圣诞节是商家推销产品的大好机会。有个著名的圣诞老人广告令美国人印象深刻，那便是1954年可口可乐广告，其中圣诞老人放下了一袋玩具休息片刻，并享用着“口渴时的礼物”—— 一瓶可乐。

Many organizations and agencies use Santa to send messages to the world.

不少组织和机构都会利用圣诞老人的形象向世界传递信息。

Last month, PostNord Sverige, Sweden’s postal service, released a new ad for Christmas. In the ad, Santa tries to speed his reindeer up so that he can send presents quicker in order to satisfy modern people’s needs, but he only makes things chaotic.

上个月，瑞典邮政机构“瑞典邮政”新发布了一则圣诞广告。广告中，圣诞老人为了满足现代人的需求，想赶紧把礼物送到，就拼命想让他的驯鹿跑快点，结果反而把事情弄得一团糟。

Finally he gives up, but as he continues on his delivery trip, he sees a little girl and gives her a friendly nod and wave. The ad seems like a feel-good story, but actually has a deeper meaning. Like Santa, PostNord has pressure to deliver packages quickly in this e-commerce era. Like Santa, PostNord wants greater understanding from the public.

最终他放弃了，但当他要继续上路派送礼物时，一个小女孩出现了，圣诞老人向她友善的点头，然后挥手道别。这则广告看起来似乎是个暖心的故事，但实际上却有着更深的含义。和圣诞老人一样，瑞典邮政在电子商务时代也面临着快递物流的压力，也希望能获得公众更多的谅解。

The ad about Santa from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is another that is thinking about. In the 100-second film, the familiar bearded figure walks through the smoke from the burned-out cars in a war zone. In a damaged house, Santa finds a lonely girl and tries to give her a present. But the girl can’t receive it because, so it turns out, she is dreaming. The message is “to remind more people to pay attention to families which are separated due to conflict, migration or natural disasters”, Jenni Smout, the communications manager of ICRC, told CNN.

红十字国际委员会关于圣诞老人的广告是另一则发人深思的广告。在这段100秒的小短片中，交战区里被烧毁的汽车正冒着黑烟，人们熟悉的白胡子老人从中间穿过。在一幢被毁的房子里，圣诞老人发现了一个孤零零的小女孩，他想送给她一个礼物，但小女孩却收不到。原来，这一切都只是女孩的一场梦。影片想要“让更多的人关注因战争、移民以及自然灾害而分离的家庭，”红十字国际委员会媒介经理詹妮·斯莫特在接受CNN采访时表示。

People associate Santa with the joy of Christmas but in truth Santa has always had other uses. Certainly he’s a favorite with companies hoping to sell their goods in the holiday season, but other organizations with a message also value the charm of the white-bearded old man in the red outfit and his reindeer friends.

人们将圣诞老人和圣诞节的欢乐联系在一起，但事实上圣诞老人的形象常常另有他用。他无疑是节假日期间商家们用来推销产品的最佳人选，而其他有话要说的组织也相当看重这位红衣白胡子的老人和他的驯鹿朋友们的魅力。