Coca-Cola’s 2024 Holiday Ad: A Groundbreaking AI Experiment or a Step Too Far?

By Sahr Ahmed

Coca-Cola has once again made headlines with the new commercial to be released for the 2024 holiday, which is a total overhaul of the 1995 Holidays are Coming commercial. But this time, there’s a twist: In fact, the entire campaign can be run under the auspices of artificial intelligence. The whole advertisement, from the snowy town to the well-known Coke trucks, is all featured using artificial intelligence. This ballsy decision elicited rants and commentaries from all corners of the advertising industry, and opinions have been split as to whether this is the beginning of a new conversation that is a remembrance of the lost art of narrative telling.

The Ad: AI’s Take on Nostalgia

Coca-Cola's AI-generated ad uses the basic idea of the classic ad: a town covered in snow, red trucks emanating light, and holiday music. Yet it retains some of the familiarity of the goalposts early on, featuring hyper-detailed visuals and AI-generated characters. This trend away from live-action campaigns and brings in modern technology to revamp what has become a historical piece in ad history.

Coca-Cola announced the advertisement on the social media platform X which caused a massive response and further popularity around AI in the media and entertainment industry.

The Polarized Reaction

Reaction to Coca-Cola’s AI holiday advert has not been as positive all around. People are divided into two groups, which has demonstrated the controversy of thoughts regarding artificial intelligence in the creative sphere.

Criticism: A Loss of Authenticity?

Critics say that although the new ad is as beautifully shot, it raises similar issues as the previous ad – it is not as moving, or as real. Common points of contention include:

• Uncanny Valley Effect: These characters can be realistic but for some can look eerie or lifeless.

• Emotional Disconnect: A large number of TV viewers are convinced that the given advert does not deliver the human element, which was a key characteristic of the initial marketing campaign.

• Traditional Craftsmanship Undermined: Cynics worry that the encroachment of AI in an industry means less room for the creative talent who may be replaced without Callback – Graphic designers must adapt to using AI to continue creating compelling and memorable ads for products.

Few viewers think this campaign shows how dangerous it is to be over-reliant on AI, as opposed to actually considering people’s emotional responses.

Support: A Visionary Leap Forward

On the other side of the spectrum, advocates appreciate Coca-Cola for being proactive in innovation and aspiring to use AI in storytelling. Key advantages they highlight include:

• Reduced Production Costs: In entailing agility, most logistics and financial burdens of large-scale productions are solved by AI processes.

• Creative Freedom: AI helps brands to try different styles and ideas visually that cannot be done physically most of the time.

• Faster Creation Times: There is a very short TTR (Time to Resolution) in AI content production, so brands do not struggle to chime in and be culturally responsive.

For these advocates, Coca-Cola’s ad is an example of a message of the future where technology completes human imagination to create unique ads.

The Bigger Picture: AI’s Role in Advertising

Coca-Cola’s brave trial demonstrates a broader phenomenon of the relationship between artificial intelligence and media/advertising. The use of AI to generate entire campaigns raises important questions:

Can AI develop the complex imagery of emotions? In general, the use of AI for the creation of attractive visual images is more of a success, but its capacity to trigger human emotions is still questionable.

• What do social roles and expectations do and what becomes of the more traditional ones? As brands lean into AI, the future of directors, cinematographers and actors might change significantly as well.

• AI-assisted creativity: However, if AI becomes a standard practice in advertising, brands have to make sure that it does not tread over the personalization and creativity of the campaigns.

• Much has been said about the news article concerning Coca-Cola’s advertising and it very much underscores this year’s theme of the effectiveness of the use of technological advancement as a tool to support the age-old art of storytelling.

What’s Next for AI and Advertising?

Coca-Cola’s ad for the holiday season 2024 is not just an advert that the company will air; it is a test of whether the ad industry is ready for AI. The short-term reaction is complex, but the long-term effects are quite clear. While AI is still in progress, it may be considered to have an important role in creative industries. But whether such a technology will improve or tone down the art of advertisement is another question altogether; it depends on how brands or creators or the audiences themselves embrace this revolution.

How did you find Coca-Cola’s AI-generated holiday ad? Is this inspiring with innovation or are you craving for the touch of the real feel of a conventional campaign? Let us know your thoughts!

Check out the ad here on X.