<P> Robert L. May created Rudolph in 1939 as an assignment for Chicago - based Montgomery Ward . The retailer had been buying and giving away coloring books for Christmas every year and it was decided that creating their own book would save money . May considered naming the reindeer `` Rollo '' or `` Reginald '' before deciding upon using the name `` Rudolph . '' In its first year of publication , Montgomery Ward distributed 2.4 million copies of Rudolph 's story . The story is written as a poem in anapestic tetrameter , the same meter as `` A Visit from St. Nicholas '' ( also known as `` ' Twas the Night Before Christmas '' ) . Publication and reprint rights for the book Rudolph the Red - Nosed Reindeer are controlled by Pearson PLC . </P>
<P> Robert L. May created Rudolph in 1939 as an assignment for Chicago - based Montgomery Ward . The retailer had been buying and giving away coloring books for Christmas every year and it was decided that creating their own book would save money . May considered naming the reindeer `` Rollo '' or `` Reginald '' before deciding upon using the name `` Rudolph . '' In its first year of publication , Montgomery Ward distributed 2.4 million copies of Rudolph 's story . The story is written as a poem in anapestic tetrameter , the same meter as `` A Visit from St. Nicholas '' ( also known as `` ' Twas the Night Before Christmas '' ) . Publication and reprint rights for the book Rudolph the Red - Nosed Reindeer are controlled by Pearson PLC . </P>
what company originally created rudolph the red-nosed reindeer as a christmas promotion
what company originally created rudolph the red-nosed reindeer as a christmas promotion
Chicago - based Montgomery Ward
Chicago - based Montgomery Ward