Coke Doubles Down on AI Holiday Ads Amid Fresh Backlash

[justseyi]

AI Generated Advert

Coke’s AI Holiday Ad Returns: This Time, It’s Animals
By @JustSeyi November 11, 2025 – 03:01 AM CST, somewhere quiet

Coca-Cola just dropped its second AI-generated holiday ad. No humans this time—just meerkats, koalas, and a raccoon staring at a glowing red truck like it’s the second coming.

Last year’s version? People in it looked… off. Too smooth. Too still. The kind of thing you notice at 2 AM and can’t unsee. It got billions of views, sure. But the comments were brutal: “Uncanny valley Christmas.” “Santa’s been replaced by a render farm.” Artists called for boycotts. Coke called it “a bold experiment.”

So they went back to the drawing board—or the prompt box. This year: animals only. Same iconic 1995 “Holidays Are Coming” vibe—snow, lights, that jingle—but now with a koala waving from a tree and a meerkat family huddled like they’re waiting for the bus.

It’s better. Less creepy. The animals move like animals. The truck still sparkles. Santa still waves. And yes, the wheels actually turn this time.

Coke says they used AI to generate over 70,000 video clips in 30 days. A human team picked the best ones. Music? Still real singers. Budget? They won’t say. But the headcount dropped from 50 to 20. That’s the part no one’s talking about out loud.

On X, reactions are split:

“Finally, an AI ad I don’t hate.”
“Still soulless. Just with fur.”
“Pepsi’s sleeping on this.”
One user wrote: “Coke’s red because it’s made from the tears of laid-off animators.” Another: “At least the raccoon looks happier than I do at work.”

Truth is, it works. It’s warm. It’s nostalgic. It’s… fine. Not magical. But not a crime against Christmas either.

Coke’s not backing down. They call AI a “superpower.” They’re not wrong—it’s fast, it’s cheap, and it scales. But it’s also a signal: the future of holiday ads might not need a single human face.

For now, the animals are cute. The jingle still hits. And if you squint, it feels like Christmas.

Just don’t look too close at the raccoon’s eyes.

Watch video here: https://youtu.be/eoXX905YK6M

[Author]

Posts