In 1922, Coke débuted, in a French print ad, its polar-bear mascot—a jolly animal squirting soda from a bottle into the mouth of a thirsty sun. In the following decades, the image of a mother polar bear and her two cubs became a standby for the brand, used to denote the start of the holiday season. In 1993, Coke introduced its first animated bear, in “Northern Lights,” a TV spot that shows polar bears gathering to drink Coke and watch the aurora borealis. The company returned to this device in a 2012 spot, in which two bears sit on a couch of snow, cheering at the Coke Polar Bowl. Polar bears reflect “the best attributes we like to call ‘human,’ ” the creator of the first animated ad has said. “The bears are cute, mischievous, playful and filled with fun.”