The Era of the Coca‑Cola AI Christmas Ad: Innovation Meets Backlash

by Lhea Ignacio

Il y a un jour

When one of the world’s most iconic brands, Coca-Cola launches its annual holiday ad and chooses to lean into generative AI, you know the conversation isn’t just about festive trucks and jingles anymore. This year, the “Holidays Are Coming” campaign has sparked a firestorm, and not just because of snow and red trucks. We’re witnessing a moment of reckoning: a major brand pushing AI into the heart of its creative process, and audiences pushing back.

In this article, we peel back the layers of the campaign, the chatter, the criticism, the brand’s response and what this means for marketing, creators, and the wider culture.

A brief history of the “Holidays Are Coming” campaign

The phrase “Holidays Are Coming” is legendary in advertising. Back in 1995, Coca-Cola’s fleet of cherry-red trucks laden with Christmas lights rolled across snowy landscapes, to the sound of the famous jingle. Over time, the ad became a part of the holiday ritual itself, signalling festive cheer and the start of the season.

As the years passed, the campaign evolved but always with human-crafted visuals, large-scale shoots, real trucks or high-end CGI, and a deliberate effort to tie the brand to warmth, nostalgia and community. That heritage is part of what makes the new turn toward AI so provocative.

Why did Coca-Cola switch to generative AI?

The logic is compelling: generative AI promises faster turnaround, reduced cost, and the ability to scale creative versions for multiple markets. According to one report, Coca-Cola’s latest campaign took about one month to produce, far shorter than traditional large-scale production. The company also said that the new spot was created in around 30 days, thanks to AI-led generation of some 70,000 video clips by a team of five AI specialists.

From a business perspective: digital first, global rollout, consistency across 140+ countries, and the ability to iterate quickly. But as you’ll see, that comes with creative and cultural trade-offs.

What does the 2025 AI-powered ad look like?

In the 2025 version of the campaign, Coca-Cola leans into animals instead of humans. Polar bears, penguins, sloths, and rabbits feature prominently as the trucks drive by. The wheels on the trucks finally spin (a criticism of the 2024 version), and the human characters are nearly absent. The production credits list creative agencies and AI studios like Silverside and Secret Level.

Visually, the campaign still references the original truck-parade aesthetic, but the methodology is different: generative AI plus human supervision, rather than fully traditional filming.

The backlash: What are people upset about?

This is where it gets interesting. The reaction has included:

Criticism that the ad feels “soulless,” “uncanny,” and robotic despite the festivity.
Concern for human creative labour being replaced or devalued.
A sense of betrayal among fans of the earlier trucks-and-lights tradition.
Design criticism: disconnects in animation, weird pacing, jarring transitions.
Cultural criticism: A brand tied to holiday magic is now associated with tech-speed and cost-cutting, provoking questions about whether “magic” can be algorithmically generated.

And there is a brand defence: Coca-Cola said it remains “committed to building the intersection of human creativity and technology.”

Five key lessons for marketers from this campaign

Here are actionable takeaways for brands, creatives and strategists:

1. The value of human connection still matters

Even the slickest tech can’t fully replace the warmth of real emotion, nostalgia or storytelling rooted in lived experience. Audiences notice when something feels uncanny or too engineered.

2. Messaging vs execution: Technology is visible

Using AI doesn’t make the execution invisible; it may even make audiences more aware of the method. If the craft isn’t strong, the AI shortcut becomes part of the story rather than hidden behind it.

3. Transparently using AI invites scrutiny

The more a brand broadcasts that it is using generative AI for production, the more it opens the door to criticism about ethics, jobs, aesthetics, and labour. Coca-Cola’s transparency brought both admiration and backlash.

4. Nostalgia is double-edged

When you lean into a legacy campaign (like “Holidays Are Coming”), you carry expectations. Deviations even for good reason risk alienating loyal fans. Balancing innovation with heritage isn’t easy.

5. Efficiency vs artistry trade-off

Yes, AI can deliver faster and cheaper, but if the outcome feels cheap, the brand may suffer. Efficiency should not come at the expense of quality or emotional resonance.

Why this debate matters beyond one Christmas ad

The Coca-Cola story isn’t just about trucks, polar bears and AI. It sits at a larger intersection of culture, technology, labour and brand purpose. Here’s why it matters:

Creator economy & job impact: The shift to AI-generated visuals and storytelling raises questions around how many human artists, animators, voice actors and technicians will be needed in future.
Brand trust and authenticity: Consumers are increasingly sceptical of what they see vs what they feel. If creativity becomes too automated, will brands lose their human bank?
Regulatory & ethical horizon: Using generative AI in visible ways opens up issues: attribution, copyright, data training sources, and job displacement.
Ad industry transformation: Many agencies and brands are following this path. Coca-Cola is a bellwether. The design, production, and workflow of adverts may shift rapidly.
Cultural nostalgia vs techno-future: Holidays and tradition are emotional. When tech steps in, there’s a risk it undermines the memory and magic people expect.

Creator & audience responses: Voices from the field

On Reddit and creative forums, these sentiments surfaced:

“The commercial was ugly, that’s why people hated on it… the more these weirdos try to force AI down our throats, the more alienated they become from a part of their consumer base who is aware enough to care.”

“Like, does Coca-Cola really need to save that much money that they can't fund one of their yearly staple campaigns?”

These voices reflect a deeper discomfort: when a beloved seasonal moment becomes experimental tech, what happens to the tradition?

Brand response: How Coca-Cola is handling it

Coca-Cola hasn’t backed down. The company insists the campaign met its internal benchmarks and that the move to AI allowed greater scalability and global reach. They also emphasise that human oversight and creative direction remained central; the AI was not “just pressed a button”. In other words, they’re committed to the path and expect debate.

Should brands follow this path? A balanced view

If you’re a brand or marketer, here are some pros and cons to using generative AI for major creative campaigns:

Pros

Speed and efficiency: Less time from concept to screen.
Scalability: Easier to generate multiple versions, global localisations, and customised assets.
Cost savings: Potentially lower budgets per version, more output.
Innovation signal: Shows brand is modern, tech-forward.

Cons

Quality risk: AI visuals or animations may feel uncanny, generic, or throw off the brand tone.
Audience backlash: Especially if the brand heritage is strong or expectations high.
Human-labour optics: Risk of negative sentiment around replacing creatives.
Emotional disconnect: Tech can simulate, but may struggle to evoke real human warmth.
Reputation risk: A misstep visible at scale can damage brand trust.

Ultimately, it’s about fit, craftsmanship, and transparency. If you experiment, do so with care.

What comes next for holiday advertising?

Here are some forecasts and suggestions:

Hybrid models will dominate: Rather than entirely AI-generated films, we’ll likely see mixes: AI for background, adaptive assets; humans for key emotional moments.
More audience involvement: Brands might let consumers upload their own creative assets, prompting AI to customise them, creating greater engagement.
Focus on authenticity: Especially for holiday campaigns, where emotion matters, brands will champion “real moments” even if enhanced by tech.
Creative labour rethink: Agencies will shift roles: prompt engineers, AI creative supervisors, human-in-the-loop editors.
Ethical transparency: Audiences and regulators will ask: which parts are AI, were humans paid fairly, and what training data was used? Transparent crediting may become the norm.

FAQ’s

Q1: Was the 2025 Coca-Cola ad entirely made by AI?
While the campaign used substantial generative AI for visual asset creation, Coca-Cola says there was human creative direction and supervision.

Q2: Why are people upset about it?
Many feel the ad lacks the warmth and craft of earlier versions, are concerned about job displacement of creatives, and feel the brand heritage is being sidelined by tech.

Q3: Is Coca-Cola the first major brand to use AI in a holiday ad?
It’s certainly among the most visible and high-profile examples. The company itself noted its prior use in 2024 and says this year is a further evolution.

Q4: Did the campaign perform poorly?
While online reaction includes strong criticism, Coca-Cola claims internal benchmarks were met. The full public data on impact is not publicly disclosed.

Q5: What does this mean for smaller brands?
For smaller brands, the lesson is: generative AI can be a powerful tool, but it doesn’t replace strong storytelling and genuine human connection. Use it thoughtfully, not just because you can.

Q6: Can viewers tell the difference between AI and traditional production?
Increasingly yes, especially when animations or visuals fall short of human-crafted nuance. In this case, truck wheels that didn’t spin, odd movements and animation glitches triggered many complaints.

Conclusion

The Coca-Cola Christmas campaign using AI has become more than just a holiday ad; it is a case study. It asks big questions: What happens when heritage brands lean into rapid tech? When efficiency collides with emotion? When tradition meets tool?

For marketers, creators and audiences alike, the takeaway is clear: Embrace innovation, yes, but not at the expense of heart. The 'magic’ of a holiday campaign is not just in the lights or the trucks, but in the resonance, the human moment, the simple “season of joy” feeling. If AI is your tool, make sure you’re still using your heart.

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