which department store created rudolph the red-nosed reindeer?

Montgomery Ward, a Chicago-based department store chain, created Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in 1939 as part of a Christmas promotion.

Quick Scoop: Who Created Rudolph?

• The character of Rudolph was commissioned by Montgomery Ward’s marketing department for a free holiday booklet to give to shoppers’ children in 1939.

• Copywriter Robert L. May wrote the original story-poem about the misfit reindeer with the glowing red nose.

• The promotion was so popular that millions of copies of the Rudolph booklet were eventually distributed, and the character moved from store gimmick to enduring Christmas folklore.

A Tiny Bit More Background

• Montgomery Ward had previously bought Christmas booklets from outside publishers, but decided it would be cheaper and more on-brand to create its own story in-house.

• That decision led directly to Rudolph’s creation and, later, to the song and TV specials that made him one of the most recognizable Christmas characters in the world.

TL;DR: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was created by the Montgomery Ward department store as a 1939 holiday marketing story.

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