Coca-Cola is facing backlash online over an artificial intelligence-made Christmas promotional video that users are calling “soulless” and “devoid of any actual creativity.”
The AI-made video features everything from big red Coca-Cola trucks driving through snowy streets to people smiling in scarves and knitted hats holding Coca-Cola bottles. The video was meant to pay homage to the company’s 1995 commercial “Holidays Are Coming,” which featured similar imagery, but with human actors and real trucks.
Forbes reported that the video was created by three AI studios — Secret Level, Silverside AI and Wild Card — using four different generative AI models. Silverside AI’s AI Developer Chris Barber wrote in a reply on X that each of the AI studios created a different version of the advertisement, with the viral one not belonging to Silverside AI.
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The video drew criticism from many creatives who argued that it was distasteful for the company to use AI technology to create the video instead of the work of artists. Alex Hirsch, the creator of the Disney series “Gravity Falls,” commented on an X post that showed the new commercial, which has amassed over 56 million views, “FUN FACT: @CocaCola is ‘red’ because it’s made from the blood of out-of-work artists! #HolidayFactz.”
Many artists and creative professionals have pushed back against the use of AI in creative works, arguing that the technology may be used to replace human workers and that many AI models were trained on artists’ work without proper compensation or credit.
In a statement, a Coca-Cola spokesperson said, "The Coca-Cola Company has celebrated a long history of capturing the magic of the holidays in content, film, events and retail activations for decades around the globe. 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. Coca-Cola will always remain dedicated to creating the highest level of work at the intersection of human creativity and technology."
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This isn’t the first time that Coca-Cola has used AI technology in its marketing strategies and programs. In March 2023, Coca-Cola collaborated with OpenAI to release one of its first AI-generated commercials, called “Masterpiece,” which showed paintings and sculptures in an art museum come to life and pass around a bottle of Coca-Cola.
The company also announced in a news release that month that it would be partnering with artists to create artwork using Coca-Cola’s creative archives and AI technology. The company even has its own global head of generative AI.
Neeraj Arora, the chair of marketing research and education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the reason why the company faced backlash for this specific advertisement, and not for “Masterpiece” last year, could be because many consumers recognize Christmas as an integral part of the company’s brand, and AI technology acts as a disruption.
“Your holidays are a time of connection, time of community, time to connect with family, and that’s sort of a big part of what the holidays are about,” Arora said. “But then you throw AI into the mix that is not a fit, that is not a fit with holiday timing, but also, to some degree, also Coke, what the brand means to people.”
Toys R Us faced similar backlash online over the summer for an AI-made commercial that depicted the company’s late founder in a bike shop alongside the brand mascot. Despite the controversy, the company said that it was “successful” and that the technology would be an addition to its “tool kit” for the future.
Tim DeStefano, a research professor at Georgetown University McDonough School of Business, told NBC News that using AI technology means a significant drop in the price of creating commercials. He added that as the technology improves, he believes more people will become receptive to it.
“Most of the time, when we see the deployment of new technologies, you see the creation of a bunch of new jobs that never existed before,” DeStefano said, addressing the focus on how AI is affecting the job market. “Although there’s some skepticism and acceptance, reluctance to accept these types of ads by consumers, I think that the benefits sort of outweigh that, and I believe that companies are going to continue using it over time.”
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