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Santa sends a message
圣誕季到了，圣誕老人很忙……
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.
還有兩周就要到圣誕節了，對英美等國來說，圣誕節是一大重要節日。 據說，這個留著白胡子，穿著紅衣服，高大又快樂的老人會給世界各地的孩子們送去禮物。
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.
但不論你是否會親眼見到圣誕老人，你都很有可能會在廣告里看到他。畢竟，圣誕節是商家推銷產品的大好機會。有個著名的圣誕老人廣告令美國人印象深刻，那便是1954年可口可樂廣告，其中圣誕老人放下了一袋玩具休息片刻，并享用著“口渴時的禮物”—— 一瓶可樂。
Many organizations and agencies use Santa to send messages to the world.
不少組織和機構都會利用圣誕老人的形象向世界傳遞信息。
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.
上個月，瑞典郵政機構“瑞典郵政”新發布了一則圣誕廣告。廣告中，圣誕老人為了滿足現代人的需求，想趕緊把禮物送到，就拼命想讓他的馴鹿跑快點，結果反而把事情弄得一團糟。
Finally he gives up, but just 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 it 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.
最終他放棄了，但當他要繼續上路派送禮物時，一個小女孩出現了，圣誕老人向她友善的點頭，然后揮手道別。這則廣告看起來似乎是個暖心的故事，但實際上卻有著更深的含義。和圣誕老人一樣，瑞典郵政在電子商務時代也面臨著快遞物流的壓力，也希望能獲得公眾更多的諒解。
The ad about Santa from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is another that is thinking about it. 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.
紅十字國際委員會關于圣誕老人的廣告是另一則發人深思的廣告。在這段100秒的小短片中，交戰區里被燒毀的汽車正冒著黑煙，人們熟悉的白胡子老人從中間穿過。在一幢被毀的房子里，圣誕老人發現了一個孤零零的小女孩，他想送給她一個禮物，但小女孩卻收不到。原來，這一切都只是女孩的一場夢。影片想要“讓更多的人關注因戰爭、移民以及自然災害而分離的家庭，”紅十字國際委員會媒介經理詹妮·斯莫特在接受CNN采訪時表示。
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.
人們將圣誕老人和圣誕節的歡樂聯系在一起，但事實上圣誕老人的形象常常另有他用。他無疑是節假日期間商家們用來推銷產品的最佳人選，而其他有話要說的組織也相當看重這位紅衣白胡子的老人和他的馴鹿朋友們的魅力。
