Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was created by Robert Lewis May, an advertising copywriter at Montgomery Ward, in 1939. May wrote the original story as part of a marketing campaign to sell toys for the Montgomery Ward department store. He infused the character with relatable experiences of being an underdog, drawing inspiration from fairy tales like "The Ugly Duckling".

The story was initially written as a booklet with rhyming couplets and later turned into a popular Christmas character symbolizing kindness and determination. May later collaborated with Johnny Marks, his brother-in-law, who composed the famous song about Rudolph that helped popularize the character even further.