Copyright Newsweek
Coca-Cola has defended its Christmas advert, following backlash over the fact that it was made with generative AI. Newsweek has contacted Coca-Cola via email for comment. Why It Matters The AI revolution is well underway, and as the world moves to try an keep up, there is headline after headline about mass layoffs related to the tech, and institutions sounding the alarm on AI’s impact on intelligence. AI increasingly sits at the cornerstone of controversy, something that Coca-Cola is already aware of, after it faced backlash for using AI in its 2024 Christmas advert. That commercial was set to music from Coca-Cola's original 1955 commercial, and featured trucks and people with a slightly uncanny feel. What To Know The beverage behemoth took a similar approach to this year’s Christmas ad. It used generative AI and features a series of anthropomorphic animals who react to the Coca-Cola truck as it travels across the globe. The only person shown in the ad is Santa Claus, who is based on the company’s original drawings. In a press release, Coca-Cola said: "Last year we set a global milestone with the world’s first entirely GenAI-created film on broadcast media—a bold leap that broke new ground." "This year’s campaign is another proof point in our journey of emerging technology to rethink how we create and scale content," the release continued. However, the ad was swiftly dubbed an "eyesore" by tech outlet The Verge and blasted as "AI slop" by social media users. Pratik Thakar, global VP and head of generative AI at Coca-Cola also defended the decision in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "Last year, people criticized the craftsmanship," he said, but described the ad as "ten times better" this time around. He also noted that we "cannot keep everyone 100 percent happy," but added that if "the majority of consumers see it in a positive way it's worth going forward". The internet, though, is not convinced. What People Are Saying The social media account @DiscussingFilm in a post on X viewed over 14 million times on X: "Coca-Cola's annual Christmas advert is AI-generated again this year. The company says it used even fewer people to make it—'We need to keep moving forward and pushing the envelope', [but] the genie is out of the bottle, and you’re not going to put it back in." Social media user @relientkenny in a post on X: "This is disgusting. you’re a multiBILLION dollar company. pay REAL animators. this is disgusting." Social media user @YLIAfan, in a post on X viewed over 170,000 times: "This is why we drink Mr. Pibb." Social media user @ednewtonrex, in a post on X: "Turns out the 'zero' in coke zero is the number of human creatives they want to employ. I'm committing now not to buy a single coke in 2026. Anyone join me?" Social media user @hrryrem in a post on X viewed over 20,000 times: "2025 ai slop cheap coca cola commercial, you will *never* be 1990s festively warm and comforting coca cola Christmas commercial." What’s Next As the Hollywood festive season begins and high-profile companies move to release their Christmas campaigns, similar criticism could be directed at another big names if they have used AI in their adverts.
