Coca-Cola releases new AI-generated ads for the 2025 holidays, after finding people didn't know or care about the use of AI, despite criticism for its 2024 ads
‘Holidays Are Coming’ faster and cheaper for the soda giant, which caught heat last year for its AI-generated ads
The new campaign matters because Coca-Cola says audience awareness of the production method was low and indifference high, weakening the practical force of the earlier criticism. Later big-event advertising coverage also suggests AI’s growing presence does not by itself determine cultural attention: nostalgia-led Super Bowl ads outperformed AI-heavy categories on social media.
First-order effects
Coca-Cola can deploy its 2025 holiday campaign with AI as a faster, lower-cost production method despite the prior public criticism.
The company’s finding that consumers largely did not notice or value the AI distinction gives its marketing team more room to use the approach without making the technology the campaign’s message.
Second-order effects
Other large advertisers gain a prominent test case for using generative production on established seasonal assets, while agencies and creative suppliers face stronger pressure to demonstrate where human-led work adds distinctive value.
The earlier artist-focused backlash remains a reputational constraint: brands may adopt AI workflows while minimizing their visibility or retaining conventional creative signals in consumer-facing campaigns.
Third-order effects
If consumer indifference continues, generative advertising is likely to move from a novel campaign choice toward a back-end production capability evaluated chiefly on cost, speed, and brand performance.
The market may separate AI production from AI-themed marketing: the latter can draw attention, but the later dominance of nostalgia-driven social response indicates that automation alone is not a substitute for durable brand resonance.
The trend: Brand advertisers are commercializing AI content first as an efficiency layer, while keeping consumer-facing creative anchored in familiar brand cues rather than the technology itself.
Coca-Cola's annual Christmas advert is AI-generated again this year. The company says they used even fewer people to make it — “We need to keep moving forward and pushing the envelope... The genie is out of the bottle, and you're not going to put it back in” [video]
We are incredibly proud to have partnered with Coca-Cola for the second time for the “Holidays are Coming” AI film. Last year was a cultural milestone, and this year, through animated characters, we bring magic across the globe with the arrival of the Coca-Cola trucks. [video]
this is just an executive lying through his teeth to excite investors, not disclosing the cost or any info about project process is a dead giveaway. Genuinely have not yet seen an AI “forward” project that was actually more efficient and didnt require mountains of cleanup
The quote is easily the worst part. Biggest company in the world proudly admitting to accelerating the apocalypse and asking “what are you going to do about it?”
Coca Cola AI generated ad 2024 vs 2025 Immediately you notice not only the quality and characters are more consistent but the 2025 version is much longer. The company says they used even fewer people to make it (keep in mind it's better quality and longer) “We need to keep [video…
The THR article about the new Coca-Cola Gen AI Holiday ad is WILD. The gist of it is 'the only people upset about these ads are creatives worried for their jobs. But don't worry- even though we'll hire WAY less people, budgets will magically stay the same!' Absolute lunacy. [imag…
You may be wondering why this year's AI slop Coca-Cola commercial focused on animal characters... It's because their Santa Claus looks like an uncanny valley nightmare. Fuck Coca-Cola. [image]
1) It's an ad, not a TV show or a movie. 2) It's animated anyway. Seems perfectly fine to me. — AI becomes a concern when the networks want to make TV shows and movies that ‘look’ real for the purpose of not paying actors.