Coca-Cola faces scrutiny after releasing its Christmas advert

The festive season is synonymous with traditions, from the jingle of bells to the heartwarming sight of families gathering.

Every year, many eagerly look forward to Coca-Cola's Christmas advertisement, which often signals the start of the holiday season.

However, this year's advert received a frosty reception among Aussies.


Coca-Cola's latest foray into festive advertising introduced an artificial intelligence-generated Christmas commercial.

The ad, which wanted to pay tribute to the 1995 'Holidays Are Coming' campaign, featured the Coca-Cola red trucks navigating a snowy landscape to deliver the beloved beverage.

However, a disclaimer which read 'created by Real Magic AI' sparked a sleigh-load of controversy.


compressed-coca cola.jpeg
The Coca-Cola advert had several inconsistencies, including Santa Claus's odd hand. Image Credit: Coca-Cola


Viewers took to social media to voice their dismay, criticising the advert for being a 'creepy dystopian nightmare'.

'Sad to see this was made with an AI-generated program,' one wrote.

'I feel like I'm watching the death of art and our planet unfold in front of my eyes, and no one seems to care.'

Other comments also called this year's advert 'garbage' and 'ugly'.


In response to the uproar, Coca-Cola has issued an official statement.

'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,' a Coca-Cola spokesperson stated.

'We are always exploring new ways to connect with consumers and experiment with different approaches. This year, we crafted films through a collaboration of human storytellers and the power of generative AI.'


Despite the company's defence, the ad's execution was widely criticised.

Forbes highlighted the technical shortcomings of the advert through its details.

The publication pointed out the unnatural movement of the truck wheels and the absence of Santa Claus.

Yet, the minds behind the AI-driven spectacle stood by their work.

Secret Levels studio founder Jason Zada, who worked on the advert, insisted that the human touch was still present, providing 'warmth' to the clip.


Meanwhile, Pratik Thakar, Coca-Cola's Vice President and Global Head of generative AI, emphasised the connection between the human experience and advanced technology.

Thakar also mentioned the efficiency of using generative AI for their advert.

'More than cost, it's the speed. Speed is, I would say, five times, and that is a huge benefit. The production time would have taken, traditionally, much longer,' Thakar added.

Watch the full advert here:

Source: LLLLITL/YouTube

Coca-Cola's venture into AI-generated content became a telling sign as brands continue to look to technology for their future projects.

However, this incident also reminds everyone that the human element, particularly in creative endeavours, is not easily replicated or replaced by algorithms.
Key Takeaways

  • Coca-Cola faced backlash over its AI-generated Christmas advertisement.
  • The advertisement referenced their 'Holidays Are Coming' campaign from 1995 but drew negative attention after using a generative AI program.
  • Critics described the ad as a 'creepy dystopian nightmare' and expressed concerns over the quality of the production.
  • Coca-Cola defended its use of AI and emphasised the collaboration between human creativity and technology while managing time and costs.
What do you think of Coca-Cola's seasonal advert? Do you welcome the use of AI in creative industries, or do you believe it undermines human artistry? Share your thoughts and opinions with us in the comments below.
 
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It's absolute rubbish. Our Christmas is not full of snow, polar bears scarves, beanies and squirrels but sunshine, beaches and Father Christmas who doesn't appear at all in this ad. To me, cold drinks like Coca Cola are consumed more in summer on hot days, not the middle of winter either. What the hell is going on?
 
we don't have snow in winter bar a few mountains. Really doesn't relate to Southern Hemisphere.
It's cold, the personal/emotional aspect of an artist is missing, along with the photographer who would walk through the scenes. You can't replace that with technical crafting along. The human element is missing.
So sad to see the human creative touch is missing. It's what makes something interactive and personal.
 
I saw the Coca Cola ad, I must admit I found it disturbing. It made me feel as thought we are going to be taken over by the AI's in the near future,

The lack of Christmas with the family all sitting around the table sharing a coke was no where to be seen, for me this is what the Chrismas celebration is about, family, not AI's.
 
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Reactions: magpie1
Christmas has, in many ways, become an artificial, commercially driven construct anyway. So it seems quite appropriate for Artificial Intelligence to create these advertisements.

I don't follow any religion. But it seems to me that since Christmas is a religious holiday meant to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, then it's a bit bizarre to create ads that appear to worship a sugary beverage. Mind you, Coca Cola is an entirely artificial construct in itself -the only 'natural' ingredient in it being sugar. So maybe it's not so strange after all.
 
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Reactions: Gaena
I don't watch any form of advertising so I remain blissfully unaware 🙂
Me either, most of adverts are just pure stupid,repetitive and costs so much to air. Money should go to good causes . I would never buy anything advertised except stuff I regularly use and needed and adverts wouldn't sway me especially from those companies that bombard you . I like to find out by myself what products are worth purchasing
 
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Reactions: Littleboy8
Well I don't drink Coke but can see how CocaCola are like nearly every bad advertisement, going for AI after the Human generated ad. Again big companies let us down.
 
It's absolute rubbish. Our Christmas is not full of snow, polar bears scarves, beanies and squirrels but sunshine, beaches and Father Christmas who doesn't appear at all in this ad. To me, cold drinks like Coca Cola are consumed more in summer on hot days, not the middle of winter either. What the hell is going on?
it's just an AMERICAN Advert. that's why.
 
This advertisement would have been cost prohibitive for Coca Cola to produce through its advertising agency....so they have taken up the advertisers suggestion of creating this advertisement with Coca Cola's vice President, who also heads up Coke's Generative AI approval. It is also far speedier to make AI advertisements than 'REAL' ones. So we all should get ready to expect a lot more of this in the future....from now on Creativity of any advertisement is only limited by some Advertising agency's IMAGINATION: PLUS IT'S OVERUSE OF AI.
 
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Crickey bobs😳I have never seen this ad at all but I like it, it reminds me of Christmas on the West coast of Tasmania when we used to get snowed in with international tourists I miss those christmas’s.
(Minus the reindeers etc of course)
 
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