Mr. Bingle is a fictional character marketed and sold by department store Dillard's during the holiday season. Originating as a mascot of the Maison Blanche department store in New Orleans, Louisiana, Mr. Bingle has become an important part of the popular culture of the Greater New Orleans area, and even across the United States. History Mr. Bingle was originally conceived by Emile Alline, a window display manager of Maison Blanche, in 1947. Though conceived in 1947, Mr. Bingle was not introduced to the public until the Christmas season of 1948. Alline became aware that other department stores had mascots around Christmastime, particularly Marshall Field's Uncle Mistletoe, and pitched the concept of a similar mascot to Maison Blanche executives Lewis and Herbert Schuartz as an advertising strategy. Originally referred to as "Snow Doll", his name would quickly be changed to Mr. Bingle following a naming contest held among the employees of Maison Blanche, with the name being chosen by Lewis as it shared the initials of the store. Mr. Bingle and his home could both be abbreviated as "M.B.", and Maison Blanche was often referred to by its initials long before the creation of Mr. Bingle. This naming similarity was used heavily in marketing the character, even being referenced in his iconic theme song. Before his formal introduction to the public, his design was revised to include his iconic hat and candy cane. The rights to the character would shift along with its parent company, with the majority of the locations being bought out by Goudchaux's, Inc. of Baton Rouge, owned by Hans and Josef Sternberg, and the company then operating as Goudchaux/Maison Blanche. Most of the Maison Blanche locations would be bought out by Dillard's in 1998, and the rights to the character would shift to them as a result. As of 2021, Dillard's continues to promote and sell merchandise of Mr. Bingle. Appearance The design of Mr. Bingle is that of an anthropomorphic snowman, meaning that, while he is a snowman, he possesses human-like limbs and similar body structure. His facial features are traditionally represented by small blue dots for his eyes and red for his nose, with a small black line for a mouth assuming he is depicted with one, constantly smiling. On his back are a pair of holly wings that allow him to fly, and the year of sale usually stitched on his left foot (a