Coca-Cola have defended their new Christmas ad, amid public backlash over the fact that it was made using generative AI.
Last year, a TV spot titled The Holidays Are Coming, an homage to the company’s classic 1995 Christmas commercial, was produced using AI, showing a red Coca-Cola truck driving through a town to the delight of people and animals watching. Everything in the commercial was AI generated, sparking backlash toward the company for choosing AI programs instead of hiring animators.
This year, the soft drinks giant has made a new Christmas ad with a similar theme, also using generative AI, but now featuring anthropomorphic animals reacting to the truck instead of humans, except for Santa Claus, who appears at the end. The ad has been called an “eyesore” by tech website The Verge, with people online calling it “AI slop” and saying they will boycott the company’s products as a result.
Not buying any Coke as long as they use AI slop in their advertising.
— Matthew David Curry (@currywrites) November 4, 2025
However, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Pratik Thakar, global VP and head of generative AI at Coca-Cola, defended the decision. “Last year people criticized the craftsmanship (of 2024’s ad). But this year the craftsmanship is ten times better,” he said.
“There will be people who criticize — we cannot keep everyone 100 per cent happy,” he adds. “But if the majority of consumers see it in a positive way it’s worth going forward.”
He continued: “Some parts of the industry were not pleased we were using a 100 per cent Generative AI film, but that’s part and parcel of doing something pioneering. We understand that concern. But we need to keep moving forward and pushing the envelope.”