Coca-Cola Faces Fresh Criticism Over AI-Generated Christmas Ad Campaigns

Coca-Cola’s latest Christmas campaign has sparked backlash on social media after the company once again opted for artificial intelligence to design its festive commercial.

The 'Holidays Are Coming' ad campaign, released on Nov. 3, features a 60-second film showing Santa opening a bottle of Coca-Cola before a fleet of the brand’s iconic red trucks travels through a snowy landscape. Along the route, animated animals, including polar bears, penguins, puppies and rabbits, pause to watch them pass.

The beverages giant continued its AI push despite widespread criticism last year, when its AI-created Christmas commercials were mocked by creative professionals and viewers. According to Forbes, those advertisements were described as “uncanny eyesores” and perceived as cheap reproductions of Coca-Cola’s historically warm and nostalgic festive storytelling.

This year’s release appears to have triggered the same reaction. A recent comment by Pratik Thakar, head of generative AI at Coca-Cola, also added fuel to the ongoing backlash on social media platforms.  

Defending the brand’s approach, Thakar told The Hollywood Reporter, “We need to keep moving forward and pushing the envelope,” and added, “The genie is out of the bottle, and you’re not going to put it back in.”

Users on X (formerly Twitter) seized on the statement, interpreting it as proof that Coca-Cola intends to continue investing in AI at the expense of traditional creative work.

One user said, “The quote is easily the worst part. Biggest company in the world proudly admitting to accelerating the apocalypse and asking, ‘what are you going to do about it?’”

Another post referenced Thakar’s words and joked, “‘The genie is out of the bottle, and you’re not going to put it back in’ - your boss firing you on Christmas.”

Many users criticised the decision to use AI for a festive campaign built around themes of generosity and connection.

One comment read, “The spirit of Christmas is giving & gathering and you’re bragging about how many people you didn’t gather & give to.”

Another angry user said Coca-Cola, “A brand that regularly shovels concepts of family, community, kindness and togetherness down our throats,” was now bragging “about their hypocrisy with such brazen abandon.”

Calls for boycotts also surfaced, with one urging people to “avoid all Coca-Cola products” and adding there was “no need to reward a company that wilfully and proudly exploits and displaces workers.”

Others lamented the loss of Coca-Cola’s classic festive storytelling, sharing emotional comparisons with adverts from past decades. One user wrote, “I cry and weep for the '90s Coca-Cola Christmas adverts.”

The reactions show that many people still prefer Coca-Cola’s traditional and nostalgic Christmas ads over AI versions.