NEED TO KNOW

  • Coca Cola has released another set of AI-generated ads for the holidays
  • Last year, the brand faced significant backlash for using AI in their commercials, after its long history of emotionally moving ads for the holidays
  • “Coca-Cola embraces innovation with AI-powered storytelling,” said Coca Cola’s global vice president and head of generative AI, Pratik Thakar

Coca Cola has released new AI-generated ads.

The soda brand’s new holiday campaign — a set of two ads simply titled “Holidays Are Coming” — caught viewers’ eyes for the second year in a row, due to the spots appearing to be created by artificial intelligence. Coca Cola’s 2024 campaign for the winter holidays, which also appeared to be AI-generated, courted backlash for that reason.

Coca Cola’s global vice president and head of generative AI, Pratik Thakar, told TODAY.com that the 2025 campaign ads were guided by “human storytellers” to ensure each commercial’s “authentic and emotionally resonant” content.

“Coca-Cola embraces innovation with AI-powered storytelling, bringing beloved holiday traditions and new festive narratives to life,” Thakar told the outlet. “Our new and refreshed ‘Holidays are Coming’ adverts blend our heritage with modern innovation, demonstrating a unique collaboration of human creativity and cutting-edge generative AI.”

The first ad sees Santa Claus crack open a Coca Cola bottle ad send a lit-up Coca Cola truck on its way down a snowy road. The eyes of polar bears, penguins, hedgehogs and a giant panda widened as the Coca Cola trucks rolled past, magically lighting up Christmas trees and houses as they go.

The second spot features a pair of otters residing in a cabin, who open a Coca Cola bottle and consequently summon the lit-up trucks from down the road. As they pass by, all kinds of animals — rabbits, meerkats, groundhogs, a seal and a bear-shaped snowman all crane their necks to catch a glimpse.

Coca Cola’s AI-generated ad for the 2025 holidays.

Coca Cola/Youtube

The comments between the two ads expressed discontent with the use of AI. One user called the ad “soulless” and “lifeless,” while many stated that the AI productions lacked the emotional power of Coca Cola’s commercials of years past.

“I miss the ads that pulled at the heartstrings. I want to tear up watching any Christmas ad,” one wrote. “This look won’t ever achieve that.”

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In 2024, Coca Cola’s AI ad campaign received similar backlash. Following a similar plot line of a character opening a Coca Cola bottle to summon a line of Coca Cola trucks that light up a town, last year’s ad courted criticism for lacking the warmth and creativity that comes from a human element.

One user said the AI-generated humans in the clip made the campaign feel “like a slightly [eerie] horror movie.”