The poster telling parents to "stop lying to your children about Santa Claus" has gone on display on a Glasgow advertising hoarding.
An earlier effort to show the work was abandoned last month when the company which owned the billboard pulled out.
It is thought the firm was worried about adverse publicity after a newspaper accused the artist of spoiling Christmas for children.
Art student Darren Cullen, 22, is the man behind the poster which is part of his studies at the Glasgow School of Art.
He said: "Although it was strange for an advertising company to get publicity shy, it struck me as an example of the fact that individuals might have the right to free speech, but we don't have the same right to communicate afforded to large corporations."
The 20ft by 10ft billboard features a picture of Santa Claus and children alongside the slogan: "Santa gives more to rich kids than poor kids."
It is one of a series of artworks against consumerism, including one on Mr Cullen's website which shows Santa saying: "I killed Jesus."
Mr Cullen sees the Father Christmas story as a way of introducing children to the "must have" culture.
Mr Cullen said: "Advertisers target children directly with adverts designed to manipulate what they want.
"That isn't seen as wrong in this country. Children, for us, are just another type of consumer. I wanted to target children with an advert that parents wouldn't want their kids to see, even though it's not as manipulative or untruthful as any of the thousands of adverts they let their children see.
"Santa is a lie which teaches kids that products will make them happy. Before they can think for themselves the Santa myth already has them hooked on a life of consumerism.
"And if you try and tell kids the truth about how they're being manipulated, you're the bad guy crushing their dreams. "
The billboard is on display in the Partick area of Glasgow. A spokesman for Glasgow City Council declined to comment yesterday.
james.reed@ypn.co.uk