According to the World Population Review, Coca-Cola is undoubtedly the most popular soft drink in the world. One of the reasons for this is because the people behind the company spent years putting their soda in the face of the public. The most successful attempts came with how they were able to put Coca-Cola as a staple in Christmas, one of the most celebrated holidays in America. Here in this country, it’s almost impossible for most to picture jolly Saint Nicholas without a glass bottle of coke in his hands, or even polar bears for that matter. One of the more famous moves from the company to keep this reputation alive came from a commercial from 1995 fittingly titled, “Holidays Are Coming.” The army of red Coca-Cola trucks covered in bright lights rides smoothly through a snow-filled road. Several people watch cheerfully as the trucks move, all while a catchy jingle is played throughout. It ends with a beautifully hand drawn Santa Claus drinking the soda and the phrase, “Nothing lights up Christmas like Coca-Cola” fades in. This commercial stands the test of time as it is carried as a precious memory for many who first watched it. Despite being a blatant advertisement for a beverage, it holds much soul and passion by those who made it, and viewers could tell.
It seems like Coca-Cola wanted to recapture that feeling once more, only this time, they did this with less soul and passion. This year, the company released a remake of the 1995 commercial, nearly 30 years after the original came out. However, just a few seconds in and you can immediately tell that the visuals are a bit odd. This commercial has the similar setup of red Coca-Cola trucks moving through a snowy area, but it doesn’t look right – it doesn’t look real.
Yes, the 2024 remake of a holiday classic was entirely generated by Artificial Intelligence. The advertisement tells you from the start which specific program was used to create it, but even if you missed those tiny words in the corner, you could still tell this was AI. Shots with the trucks make them look more like plastic toys than actual vehicles. Scenes with large buildings are off putting to say the least. Even something as simple as a field of snow looks anything but realistic. Although, without a doubt, the most uncanny thing in this entire commercial are any of the living, breathing “people.” The animals were rough on their own, but none of the figures that were supposed to be human beings did their job of fooling anyone. The only thing in this entire ad that could possibly not be AI generated is the song. The jingle played throughout matches the one from the original and it could very well just be the original, but there’s still no confirmation if this is true or not.
Coca-Cola faced instant backlash from this backwards attempt. The outrage over this commercial is far greater than one would first expect. Several major news sites have published their own articles, informing others of the major mistake. The American broadcast show TODAY even had an entire section going over the controversy. Even if you yourself don’t listen to the news, you most likely would have still learned about this from the seemingly endless amount of people understandably ranting about it online. No matter the digital platform, someone was upset about the commercial. A few days after the advertisement’s release, a spokesperson for the company defended the decision, stating “We are always exploring new ways to connect with consumers and experiment with different approaches. This year, we crafted films through a collaboration of human storytellers and the power of generative AI.” This response has only fueled people’s anger.
Coca-Cola isn’t the first major company to use AI in their advertisement. There has always been some form of Artificial Intelligence used in other commercials before and after this one, and much of it has also not been reviewed positively. One infamous example came from Toys “R” Us and their collaboration with OpenAi. None of this is new to the public, but there’s a reason why Coca-Cola’s attempt was more personal than the others before it. Not only was this commercial a superficial tribute to a celebrated holiday, but it’s also an inferior copy to a well beloved classic. As stated before, the original might have been a blatant advertisement for a popular soft drink, but it was still done with plenty of passion and love. It was such a revered commercial that it makes sense that Coca-Cola would want to try to capture that magic once more in modern times. However, Coca-Cola’s mistake came when they tried capturing said magic in the least magical way possible. The only thing this commercial will be remembered for now is another instance of the inevitable consequences that come when replacing creative work with AI.
