Coca-Cola faced renewed public criticism over an AI-generated holiday advertisement, the second consecutive year the company built its Christmas campaign using artificial intelligence. The 2025 spot featured animated animals gathering around a delivery truck, and viewers objected to visuals they described as inconsistent and clumsy, with the animation shifting between realistic and cartoonish styles.
Online reaction concentrated on recurring complaints, with audiences calling the ad soulless and creepy and some viewers urging a boycott. Critics pointed to specific flaws, including a fireplace shown without a chimney opening, and argued the execution contradicted the campaign's tagline about authentic magic. The response echoed the backlash to the company's first AI holiday ad a year earlier, which drew similar criticism.
A company executive responsible for generative AI defended the approach in an interview, saying the company needed to keep pushing forward with the technology, a comment that drew further pushback. The episode became a reference point in a wider 2025 debate over brands replacing human creative work with AI tools to cut costs. Commentators framed the reaction as evidence that audiences increasingly notice and reject AI-generated marketing, particularly in emotional, nostalgia-driven categories where craft carries weight with viewers.
Source: Euronews - https://www.euronews.com/culture/2025/11/05/real-magic-coca-colas-ai-generated-christmas-ad-sparks-widespread-backlash-again