For many people around the world, Coca-Cola’s much-loved ‘Holidays are Coming’ ad marks the beginning of Christmas.
First aired in 1995, the ad shows the soft drink giant’s red delivery trucks decked out in lights making festive deliveries across a snowy landscape.
Variations of the promotion have since arrived in the weeks leading up to Christmas, but now the company has made its biggest change yet.
The new 16-second ad for 2024 was developed solely using AI, meaning all of the “actors” are not real people and none of the shots were filmed outdoors.
While the company claims the new commercial was an “efficient” way to save time and money, fans are not impressed.
Many have taken to
An X user posted: ‘Just saw an AI generated coke commercial on TV…really how are we going to let this happen?’
“I feel like I’m watching the death of art and our planet unfold before my eyes and no one (in real life) seems to care.”
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A second commenter described the ad as “very ugly”, while a third posted: “the world would end if Coca Cola’s Christmas advert was made with AI.”
Someone else posted to say they were “furious” and “outraged” by the clip, adding that it looked like “absolute shit”, while another said it made them feel “immediately sick”.
Since the original nearly 30 years ago, Coca-Cola’s annual ‘Holidays are Coming’ ads have used real actors and two-ton trucks festooned with Christmas lights.
But this year’s ad was developed solely using artificial intelligence, meaning every element the viewer sees is the product of a machine’s “imagination.”
Overall, the use of AI in advertising and the arts has proven to be a controversial move, with some critics feeling it leaves creatives out of work.
One commenter called it “a bit sad”, while someone else posted: “Maybe the worst thing AI can be used for is for the Coca-Cola Christmas advert (sic)!!!!”
Coca-Cola has said the new commercial, made with three artificial intelligence studios: Secret Level, Silverside AI and Wild Card, was an “efficient” way to save time and money.
It was based on “generative” AI, in which intelligent AI systems are trained with large amounts of data to generate new videos, images, text and other content.
‘Too niche’: The company said its new commercial was an ‘efficient’ way to save time and money, but fans aren’t impressed
‘A bit sad’: The use of AI in advertising and the arts has proven to be a controversial move, with some critics believing it puts creative types out of work.
Someone else said they are “furious” and “outraged” by the new ad, adding that it looks like “absolute shit.”
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“I immediately felt sick”: The ad used generative AI: intelligent computer systems that are trained with large amounts of data to generate new videos, images, text and other content.
The new 16-second clip for 2024 has been developed solely using AI, meaning all of the ‘actors’ are not real people and none of the shots were filmed outdoors.
Javier Meza, Coca-Cola’s EU marketing director, said the company wanted to adapt to “today’s times”, with the use of a more diverse cast and artificial intelligence technology.
“We didn’t start out saying, ‘Okay, we have to do this with AI,'” Meza said. Marketing week.
“The message was that we wanted to bring Holidays Are Coming into the present and then we explored AI as a solution for that.”
In an official statement from the company, a spokesperson called it an “exciting venture into AI-generated storytelling.”
“(This) demonstrates Coca-Cola’s commitment to embracing innovation, leveraging our collaborations with leading creative and technology partners, while staying true to its core values: spreading happiness and creating real magic.”
While the history of the Christmas ad only spans the last 30 years, Santa has appeared in Coca-Cola ads since the 1920s.
However, it is a total urban myth that Coca-Cola created the legend of Santa Claus, as is the rumor that Coca-Cola made Santa Claus red.
Before Coca-Cola was invented in 1886, Santa Claus had appeared in numerous illustrations and books wearing a scarlet coat.
Coca-Cola’s much-loved ‘Holidays are Coming’ ad shows the soft drink giant’s red delivery trucks decked out in lights making festive deliveries across a snowy landscape. In the photo, a shot of the original from 1995.
Chicago-born artist Fred Mizen painted this department store Santa Claus among a crowd drinking the now-famous drink.
However, the soft drink company claims to have helped shape the fat and cheerful character we know today.
In 1930, Chicago-born artist Fred Mizen was commissioned to paint Santa Claus drinking the drink in front of the world’s largest soda fountain, located in the Famous-Barr department store in downtown St Louis, surrounded by children. worshipers.
Mizen’s painting was used in print advertisements that Christmas season and appeared in The Saturday Evening Post in December 1930.
The following year, Coca-Cola commissioned Michigan-born illustrator Haddon Sundblom to develop advertising images using Santa Claus.
For inspiration, Sundblom turned to Clement Clark Moore’s 1822 poem “A Visit from Saint Nicholas,” commonly called “Twas the Night Before Christmas.”
Moore’s description of Saint Nicholas led to the image of a warm, friendly, pleasantly plump and humane Santa Claus.