Coca-Cola doubles down on controversy to Christmas ad in bold statement
Coca-Cola has once again poured itself into the festive spotlight, but the reaction isn’t quite as sweet as the company might have hoped.
Its brand-new Christmas ad has dropped, and it’s already dividing the internet faster than last year’s - but the soft drink brand isn’t shifting in its stance.
At first glance, everything looked reassuringly familiar: the famous red trucks glide across snowy landscapes, a reimagined Santa Claus steps from the cab with his signature smile, and animals, including seals, pandas, and penguins, gather to watch the magic unfold. It’s intended as pure festive nostalgia, but it was soon clear that the twist was that the entire advert was created using artificial intelligence.
That revelation unsurprisingly set off a storm online, especially since this isn’t Coca-Cola’s first time experimenting with AI. The company drew criticism last year for its similar campaign, with fans accusing it of stripping away the emotional warmth that made its holiday commercials iconic.
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Hollywood writer Alex Hirsch even took a swipe at the company, saying: “Coca-Cola is red because it’s made from the blood of out-of-work artists.”
Despite the backlash, the brand is refusing to back down. Pratik Thakar, Coca-Cola’s global vice president and head of generative AI, told Today: “Coca-Cola embraces innovation with AI-powered storytelling, bringing beloved holiday traditions and new festive narratives to life”.
He added: “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.”
Thakar has indeed doubled down on the decision. Ahead of the 2025 advert’s launch, he said: “Last year people criticized the craftsmanship. But this year the craftsmanship is ten times better. There will be people who criticize — we cannot keep everyone 100 percent happy. But if the majority of consumers see it in a positive way it’s worth going forward.”
The ad was developed with Los Angeles-based AI studio Secret Level, whose founder, Jason Zada, said: “The best compliment I get is when people say a video doesn’t look like AI.”
But over on Reddit and YouTube, the reaction has been brutal. Comments included one user initially fuming with: “Coca-Cola doesn’t want to pay working artists or to promote real creativity. They want to starve people, and feed digital slop to others to maximise profit.”
Others called it ‘soulless’, ‘lifeless’, as noted by People, and even ‘dystopian’, according to Today.
People have only gotten more merciless as time’s gone on, with one YouTube commenter giving one of the most liked replies to the advert, saying: “This feels like a Facebook mum post."
Another added: “Real magic is when you hire an actual artist with a soul."
The second-most liked comment went for a real zinger: “The most profitable commercial in Pepsi's history,” implying this will steer people away from Coca-Cola towards its competitors.
Since being uploaded two days ago, the advert on YouTube, currently with 346,000 views, we’ve now found has 30,000 dislikes vs 2,300 likes, according to the Return YouTube Dislike extension. Still, Coca-Cola appears unmoved by negative backlash these days. Thakar insists last year’s campaign 'performed exceptionally well and was a success with customers, which is what matters most to us.'
Topics: Drinks, Christmas, Social Media, YouTube
Ben Williams