"Ever since November of 2022, when ChatGPT was launched, AI has been encroaching upon our everyday lives. From cybersecurity to online assistants, AI is used everywhere. But one thing no one was expecting was for Coca-Cola to use it for their annual holiday commercial." --Ruby Deetz, 8th Grade

Ever since November of 2022, when ChatGPT was launched, AI has been encroaching upon our everyday lives. From cybersecurity to online assistants, AI is used everywhere. But one thing no one was expecting was for Coca-Cola to use it for their annual holiday commercial.
Back in 1995, Coca-Cola created the first of their now classic “Holidays Are Coming” commercials. The original commercial depicts Coca-Cola trucks decorated in lights, driving down a snowy road. This commercial was universally loved and people were thrilled when they heard it would be remade nearly three decades later. Initially, the public received the remake of the commercial well. However, many viewers couldn't help but notice that the commercial looked weird. People began to notice that in fine print were the words: “Created by Real Magic AI”.
Some people may not have seen this as an issue, but those who did took it to social media. “Coca-Cola just put out an ad and ruined Christmas,” says Dylan Pearce, a content creator on TikTok. Pearce believes that, “To put out slop like this just ruins the Christmas spirit.”
Pearce isn't the only one who felt Coca-Cola had made a poor decision. De’Vion Hinton has very similar opinions, “This is legit heartbreaking,” says Hinton, “Coca Cola has been the gold standard in branding and advertising for decades.” Even going as far to say, “This f–king sucks.”
Even Alex Hirsch, an animator and the creator of the Disney series Gravity Falls, poked fun at Coca-Cola by posting on X, "FUN FACT: (Coca-Cola) is 'red' because it's made from the blood of out-of-work artists!”
The possibility of AI putting working artists out of work is very real. AI takes the work of human designers, illustrators, and artists, and utilizes their creations to produce what is known as "new work" without getting their permission or payment. Additionally, it diminishes the years of expertise, unique vision, talent, and skill that human artists have worked so hard to develop.
Despite its initial bad reviews, Coca-Cola is convinced that its early experimentation is not only entertaining, but also a worthwhile investment that is preparing the business for long-term marketing success.
According to Fast Company, Pratik Thakar, the head of generative AI for Coca-Cola, says the brand’s goal for this holiday was to stick to what AI does best, “We know that when we try to go very realistic with AI, it’s usually very challenging, but when we go hyperrealistic, fantastical, then AI does an amazing job,” says Thakar, “And ‘Holidays Are Coming’ is hyper realistic. It’s a magical world, and that’s where we thought that this is a good use of technology for this specific experience.”
However there are others who believe Coca-Cola doesn't deserve the amount of hate they’re getting, “It’s honestly so stupid because why do you care so much about a Coca-Cola ad?” says 8th grade Ava Ford when asked about the amount of hate the company is receiving. “Complain all you want about a dead-eyed polar bear or that the wheels of a truck don’t actually look like they’re spinning,” says Jeff Beer in his Fast Company article about Coca-Cola’s AI Commercial, “but for the love of Santa’s beard, spare the pearl-clutching about how this creative tool has somehow robbed humanity of work that has already for eons been regularly created by committee,”
Many people believe that the use of AI in Coca-Cola’s holiday ad takes away its sentimental value since obviously, AI can’t feel emotion. “I think it takes away from the value of the commercial,” says Kaliyah Smith, an 8th grader at OSA, “Just hire a better photographer or something.” But Thakar disagrees, “We keep our roots in our heritage and what Coke is all about as a brand, but then connect the dots with the future and technology,” said Thakar, “And that was kind of a starting point.”
Back in 1995, Coca-Cola created the first of their now classic “Holidays Are Coming” commercials. The original commercial depicts Coca-Cola trucks decorated in lights, driving down a snowy road. This commercial was universally loved and people were thrilled when they heard it would be remade nearly three decades later. Initially, the public received the remake of the commercial well. However, many viewers couldn't help but notice that the commercial looked weird. People began to notice that in fine print were the words: “Created by Real Magic AI”.
Some people may not have seen this as an issue, but those who did took it to social media. “Coca-Cola just put out an ad and ruined Christmas,” says Dylan Pearce, a content creator on TikTok. Pearce believes that, “To put out slop like this just ruins the Christmas spirit.”
Pearce isn't the only one who felt Coca-Cola had made a poor decision. De’Vion Hinton has very similar opinions, “This is legit heartbreaking,” says Hinton, “Coca Cola has been the gold standard in branding and advertising for decades.” Even going as far to say, “This f–king sucks.”
Even Alex Hirsch, an animator and the creator of the Disney series Gravity Falls, poked fun at Coca-Cola by posting on X, "FUN FACT: (Coca-Cola) is 'red' because it's made from the blood of out-of-work artists!”
The possibility of AI putting working artists out of work is very real. AI takes the work of human designers, illustrators, and artists, and utilizes their creations to produce what is known as "new work" without getting their permission or payment. Additionally, it diminishes the years of expertise, unique vision, talent, and skill that human artists have worked so hard to develop.
Despite its initial bad reviews, Coca-Cola is convinced that its early experimentation is not only entertaining, but also a worthwhile investment that is preparing the business for long-term marketing success.
According to Fast Company, Pratik Thakar, the head of generative AI for Coca-Cola, says the brand’s goal for this holiday was to stick to what AI does best, “We know that when we try to go very realistic with AI, it’s usually very challenging, but when we go hyperrealistic, fantastical, then AI does an amazing job,” says Thakar, “And ‘Holidays Are Coming’ is hyper realistic. It’s a magical world, and that’s where we thought that this is a good use of technology for this specific experience.”
However there are others who believe Coca-Cola doesn't deserve the amount of hate they’re getting, “It’s honestly so stupid because why do you care so much about a Coca-Cola ad?” says 8th grade Ava Ford when asked about the amount of hate the company is receiving. “Complain all you want about a dead-eyed polar bear or that the wheels of a truck don’t actually look like they’re spinning,” says Jeff Beer in his Fast Company article about Coca-Cola’s AI Commercial, “but for the love of Santa’s beard, spare the pearl-clutching about how this creative tool has somehow robbed humanity of work that has already for eons been regularly created by committee,”
Many people believe that the use of AI in Coca-Cola’s holiday ad takes away its sentimental value since obviously, AI can’t feel emotion. “I think it takes away from the value of the commercial,” says Kaliyah Smith, an 8th grader at OSA, “Just hire a better photographer or something.” But Thakar disagrees, “We keep our roots in our heritage and what Coke is all about as a brand, but then connect the dots with the future and technology,” said Thakar, “And that was kind of a starting point.”

Shockingly enough, this isn't the first time something like this has happened. In June of 2023, Toys “R” Us experimented with an AI-generated ad that featured uncanny imagery, receiving the same backlash on social media, so it’s no surprise that Coca-Cola got the reaction it did. In the commercial, Charles Lazarus, the company's founder, is shown being motivated to launch the company following a vivid dream. People described the generated images from the Toys “R” Us commercial as “ repulsive” since it had not been touched by a human.

Notably, the ad seems rushed, leaving little to no time to comprehend what's happening on screen because of how quickly these shots are taken. The "people" in the commercial have less screen time compared to the original because of the likelihood of inducing an uncanny valley feeling where the line between real and AI becomes blurred. The fact that Santa's face is never shown on screen—only his hand holding a Coke bottle—speaks volumes.
According to Jason Zada, AI company Secret Level’s Founder, a simple opening shot featuring an AI-generated squirrel was a hassle to remotely resemble a squirrel. “We must have run that squirrel [through AI] in the beginning of that video a couple hundred times,” says Zada.
“The Coca-Cola Company has celebrated a long history of capturing the magic of the holidays in content, film, events and retail activations for decades around the globe,” said an anonymous spokesman for the company in a statement provided to The New York Times. “This year, we crafted films through a collaboration of human storytellers and the power of generative A.I.”
From what we’ve seen from Coca-Cola’s response, we can certainly expect more use of generative AI from them and possibly other large companies. Unfortunately, this means less people being put to work and creating a less creative industry, which is bound to make people less enthusiastic about the holiday season.
According to Jason Zada, AI company Secret Level’s Founder, a simple opening shot featuring an AI-generated squirrel was a hassle to remotely resemble a squirrel. “We must have run that squirrel [through AI] in the beginning of that video a couple hundred times,” says Zada.
“The Coca-Cola Company has celebrated a long history of capturing the magic of the holidays in content, film, events and retail activations for decades around the globe,” said an anonymous spokesman for the company in a statement provided to The New York Times. “This year, we crafted films through a collaboration of human storytellers and the power of generative A.I.”
From what we’ve seen from Coca-Cola’s response, we can certainly expect more use of generative AI from them and possibly other large companies. Unfortunately, this means less people being put to work and creating a less creative industry, which is bound to make people less enthusiastic about the holiday season.