{"id":295573,"date":"2025-11-16T18:29:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T18:29:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/295573\/"},"modified":"2025-11-16T18:29:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-16T18:29:16","slug":"what-brands-can-learn-from-coca-colas-terrible-ai-christmas-ad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/295573\/","title":{"rendered":"What brands can learn from Coca-Cola’s terrible AI Christmas ad"},"content":{"rendered":"

Forget chestnuts, people are roasting Coca-Cola’s AI ad this Christmas<\/a>. The backlash feels even stronger than last year, which probably isn’t what the brand was hoping for. Coca-Cola had boasted about how much better the ad was this year, apparently determined to prove itself right after last year’s scrappy effort…. only for it to get panned more loudly.<\/p>\n

The comments on Coca-Cola’s social media are almost entirely negative, and those on our own accounts when we posted about the ad were hardly any more complimentary. \u201cIf Coca Cola can’t “afford” to use real artists, who can?!\u201d one person wondered, while others declared Pepsi to now be the ‘artists’ soda’. Someone even made a devastating graphic to show some of the glaring inconsistencies in Coca-Coca’s AI Christmas ad<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Coca-Cola | Holidays Are Coming – YouTube
\n\"Coca-Cola<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

A smaller contingent did question whether the public at large really cared or even noticed that the ad was AI-generated. \u201cAs if the end consumer pays attention to any of the details we do,\u201d one person wrote.<\/p>\n

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So will it really harm how Coca-Cola’s brand? Or is it only a noisy minority that despises its use of AI? And are there ways that other brands can use AI and avoid a public hanging. We asked two branding experts for their views.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it’s less about the volume and more about who’s reacting,\u201d says Dustin Black, Executive Creative Director at Preston Spire<\/a>. \u201cThe people most upset tend to be the ones who care deeply about what Coca-Cola has always represented \u2013 authenticity, real moments, human connection. These aren’t just casual viewers; they’re often your most passionate advocates. When that group feels let down, it matters, even if they’re not the majority.\u201d<\/p>\n

Digital Marketing Expert Jeff Sherman from Top Marketing Agency <\/a> agrees. \u201cSome may argue that AI allows brands to innovate and reduce production costs, and that the younger, digital-native audiences are more forgiving. While that is partially true, the risk is reputational,\u201d he warns. \u201cwhen AI feels gimmicky or intrusive, it can undermine decades of trust and emotional capital built by the brand. Innovation without strategy can easily backfire, regardless of the audience\u2019s tech savviness.\u201d<\/p>\n

The importance of brand consistency in the times of AI<\/p>\n

Context is important. Preston notes that categories like beauty and fashion have long tended to lean into hyperreality, so AI may feel more natural there. But Coca-Cola has spent over a century building its brand around the idea that ‘real’ is better.<\/p>\n

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From the tagline ‘It’s the real thing’ in the 70’s to its multiple reversions in ‘Can’t beat the real thing’, ‘Make it real’ and ‘Real Magic’. Leaning into generative AI so heavily seems to contradict that. Preston suspects it may be an attempt to keep Coke relevant to new audiences and avoid being seen as an ‘old-school beverage’. But is that worth changing the entire brand message?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it starts with really understanding what your brand stands for. If authenticity and human connection are core to your identity, you need to be thoughtful about where and how AI plays a role,\u201d he says. \u201cIt doesn’t mean you can’t use it \u2013 but maybe it’s better suited for certain production elements rather than replacing the human story entirely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shouldn’t Coca-Cola have realised that after last year’s response? The response to the first AI Holidays are Coming ad<\/a> already showed that this was a sensitive area.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey had an opportunity to refine their approach,\u201d Preston thinks. \u201cMaybe use AI more selectively, keep humans front and centre, use it for backgrounds or production efficiency rather than the whole narrative. The fact that we’re having the same conversation again suggests they may have underestimated how much people value that human touch in holiday advertising specifically.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeff advises brands not to use AI for novelty’s sake, noting that research has shown emotional engagement drives brand loyalty more than novelty or technical sophistication.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven sophisticated AI animations can appear cold or impersonal if they overshadow the story, characters, or brand values that audiences expect,\u201d he points out. \u201cIn Coca-Cola\u2019s case, viewers reacted negatively because the ad lacked the warmth, subtle cues, and playful imperfections that make the brand\u2019s seasonal campaigns memorable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Transparency and timing<\/p>\n

Coca-Cola | Holidays are Coming, Behind the Scenes, Classical 2:42 – YouTube
\n\"Coca-Cola<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

At least Coca-Cola didn’t try to hide its use of AI. On the contrary, it even celebrated it with a bizarre AI-voiced making-off video. That may have made the response even more vehement, particularly given the timing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s a difference between disclosure and celebration,\u201d Preston says. \u201cGiven the current climate\u2013people anxious about job displacement, concerns about what’s real versus generated\u2013promoting the use of AI might have been a step too far.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing honest about using these tools is good. But elaborating at length on how AI lets you work faster and cheaper while bolstering your metrics and business results, when people are feeling really vulnerable about it, is trickier. Transparency works best when it’s paired with sensitivity to what’s happening in the broader culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

He thinks a more suitable place for AI might have been in a more niche activation, at an event like SXSW, or even a New Year celebration rather than Christmas. \u201cThe holiday time is about nostalgia and family and humanity,\u201d he says. \u201cWhat\u2019s more, the ad was released just as a key October layoffs report<\/a> hit, showing massive reductions in force spawned largely by AI. The timing was not ideal.\u201d<\/p>\n

How to use generative AI and not kill a brand in the process<\/p>\n

So is there any place for generative AI in branding and advertising assets?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sweet spot is using AI as a tool that amplifies human creativity rather than replaces it,\u201d Preston suggests. \u201cUse it to explore more options faster, to handle repetitive tasks, to help with insights and efficiency. But keep humans at the centre of the storytelling, especially for brands built on emotional connection.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best use of AI should be relatively invisible,\u201d he adds. \u201cIt should help us work smarter so we can invest more deeply in the insights and human storytelling that actually connects with people. When technology becomes the story instead of serving the story, that’s when you run into trouble. We’re all learning together right now, and I think the brands that approach it with curiosity and respect for what people value will find the right balance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeff suggests that brands experimenting with AI need to always make sure they use the technology as a tool, not a replacement. He also recommends testing audience reactions before full-scale deployment. \u201cLet AI enhance visuals, test creative concepts, or optimize workflows, but never substitute for story, emotion, or brand identity,\u201d he says. \u201cPre-testing with focus groups and preserving human touches ensures that AI serves creativity rather than diminishes it.<\/p>\n

\u201cCoca-Cola\u2019s misstep reminds all marketers that while AI can be transformative, the core of brand communication remains human. The emotional connection, nostalgia, and authenticity that audiences crave cannot be outsourced to technology. Instead, they must be thoughtfully woven into every campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Forget chestnuts, people are roasting Coca-Cola’s AI ad this Christmas. The backlash feels even stronger than last year,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295574,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[182,181,507,74],"class_list":{"0":"post-295573","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-artificial-intelligence","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-artificialintelligence","11":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295573\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/295574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}