Coca-Cola Launches AI-Generated Christmas Campaign: A New Era in Marketing Innovation
Global beverage giant Coca-Cola has once again amazed consumers and industry experts alike by unveiling its latest Christmas advertising campaign, developed almost entirely through cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology.
This isn’t the company’s first venture into innovative marketing methods, but this year marks a significant step forward, reducing human involvement in the production process and elevating the quality and realism of the ads.
According to marketing director Manolo Arroyo, such a strategy is a conscious decision by Coca-Cola to embrace technological progress and explore new creative frontiers.
For the current campaign, the company collaborated with Silverside AI, a firm specializing in generative AI technologies, to produce one of the two holiday videos broadcast across more than 140 countries worldwide.
This initiative continues last year’s experiment with AI-generated content, which initially drew mixed reactions from industry insiders and audiences, due to some unrefined or unnatural visuals.
However, the new advertisement manages to avoid many previous flaws: it appears more natural, features more engaging characters, and showcases realistic vehicles with smoothly spinning wheels.
The visuals are more detailed, providing a sense of authenticity, and eliminate the eerie “uncanny valley” effects that troubled viewers previously.
The production costs and timeframe have decreased dramatically thanks to AI tools, with the company’s executives noting that what once took a year to produce can now be accomplished within about a month.
Not all AI applications, however, have been met with approval.
Notably, animator Alex Hirsch sharply criticized Coca-Cola, claiming that the company’s “red color is blood spilled from unemployed artists.” Meanwhile, some brands leverage their refusal to use AI as part of their PR strategy, such as retailer Aerie, which proudly states its advertising was created without AI assistance.
Consumer reactions are gradually shifting: a recent survey by Attest shows that opposition to AI in advertising has decreased from 49% to 46% over the past year.
Meanwhile, the share of ads created or enhanced with generative AI technologies continues to grow—from 22% in 2024 to an anticipated 30% this year, with projections reaching 39% by 2026, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau.
Despite skepticism, Coca-Cola’s latest campaign received high praise from viewers.
According to British market research firm System1, consumers either didn’t notice the AI involvement or didn’t care much about it.
Behind-the-scenes footage reveals that a team of artists meticulously refined each AI-generated frame, pixel by pixel.
Arroyo emphasized that at the core of the campaign are human storytellers — their creativity and expertise.
Simultaneously, Coca-Cola plans to further integrate new technologies to transform its workforce structure.
About 100 people worked on this campaign, similar to previous years before AI was involved.
Notably, Silverside AI used only five specialists to process over 70,000 video clips for certain segments.
According to Adweek, AI adoption is already affecting the advertising labor market, leading to reductions in employment among young professionals aged 20-24 due to automation and industry consolidation, especially in the U.S.
companies like Amazon and Paramount have announced layoffs, as AI takes on an increasing share of creative and operational tasks.