Coca-Cola has done it again… And not in a good way. The multi-billion dollar beverage company caught heat last year after releasing an AI-generated holiday commercial that many people were less than thrilled about. Not only was the ad mocked as cheap and tacky, but critics also hit out at Coca-Cola for using AI and taking work away from real human beings in the creative industry.
The company’s latest "Holidays Are Coming" campaign features two AI-generated commercials. The first was released in November. In it, anthropomorphic animals can be seen admiring the stars of the show: the shiny, red Coca-Cola trucks arriving ahead of Christmas.
Filmmakers, other experts and ordinary people have had a field day dissecting the 60-second ad. They claim that despite 70,000 AI prompts, many of the shots don’t match up and that there are loads of other issues. But Coca-Cola seems unbothered.
Despite massive backlash last year, Coca-Cola has released another AI-generated commercial ahead of Christmas 2025
Image credits: Coca-Cola
In case you missed it, you can view the "Holidays Are Coming" commercial here:
The backlash came pouring in faster than a cold Pepsi, with many mocking Coca-Cola for not reading the room
It wasn't long before critics went into detail about what's wrong with the ad, and with AI in general
Image credits: Coca-Cola
Filmmaker Joe Russo revealed that it had taken 70,000 AI prompts and even then, the ad was filled with mistakes
Image credits: Coca-Cola
Image credits: joerussotoks
You can watch Joe Russo's full video here:
Russo wasn't the only expert to poke holes in the Coca-Cola AI commercial
Image credits: Coca-Cola
Creator, Nate B. Jones felt that the ad was "AI slop" and probably took more than 70,000 AI prompts
Image credits: Coca-Cola
Image credits: Coca-Cola
Image credits: Coca-Cola
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Image credits: nate.b.jones
"This is not how to AI guys": watch what Nate B. Jones had to say
Image credits: Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola plans to restructure its workforce in 2026, as it brings in even more AI
Coca-Cola's latest AI ad campaign, titled the “Holidays Are Coming” should have stirred up feelings of nostalgia. It was meant to be a throwback to the company’s 1995 holiday commercial of the same name. Instead, the tv ad seems to have brought up frustration, anger, mockery, and even a few calls to boycott the beverage giant.
One of the main reasons Coca-Cola is facing criticism over its AI ads is because they potentially put jobs at risk, and take food (and drinks) off the tables of creatives and film industry workers.
It's clear the beverage giant is on a mission to cut time and money - and has no problem roping in AI to help.
“Before, when we were doing the shooting and all the standard processes for a project, we would start a year in advance,” said Chief Marketing Officer Manolo Arroyo. “Now, you can get it done in around a month.”
And it doesn't stop at tv commercials... Chief Executive James Quincy said in October that the company would be restructuring its workforce in 2026, and it'll be implementing more AI and agentic tech.
According to the company's advertising agency, around 100 people worked on the recent AI "Holidays Are Coming" campaign. Coca-Cola maintains that while the production was faster than usual, it wasn't purely about pressing a few buttons.
“The core of this, the engine of this, is human storytellers,” Arroyo said.
"In a behind-the-scenes film shared by Coke, a voice-over discusses the 'team of artists' who “work frame-by-frame, often pixel-by-pixel' to touch up and tweak the festive images generated by the AI," reported the Wall Street Journal.
But not everyone is buying it.
"All that for what is still a crummy looking product," quipped Futurism.com, adding that the campaign was an "embarrassing reflection on Coke’s AI efforts."
Image credits: Coca-Cola
"People don't want AI": many netizens agreed with the critics
But not everyone hated Coca-Cola's new commercial
Some even defended AI, saying that we still have a long road ahead of us
