Coca-Cola just dropped its new holiday ad campaign, and it’s getting more side-eyes than smiles.
Titled “Holidays Are Coming,” the AI-generated commercial is meant to pay homage to the company’s beloved 1995 Christmas ad.
But despite using 70,000 AI-generated clips and involving about 100 people in production, the final result feels anything but magical.
The ad, created in partnership with Silverside AI, is Coca-Cola’s second stab at using artificial intelligence to usher in the festive season.
Last year’s attempt was mocked online for awkward animation and creepy faces.
This year, they tried to clean it up, but it still feels off. Instead of human characters, the ad relies on computer-generated animals like polar bears and, oddly, sloths.
Santa’s Close-Up Misses the Mark
There’s one major human moment: a close-up of Santa Claus smiling. But even that backfires. His hand briefly distorts bizarrely, reminding everyone that, yes, this is an AI creation.
The slogan “Real Magic” appears at the end, though many viewers say it’s missing the warmth that made the original Coke holiday ads iconic.
Behind the Scenes: Impressive Numbers, Unimpressive Results
In a behind-the-scenes video, narrated by what sounds like AI voices, the company boasts that it only took five AI specialists and one month to make the campaign.
Still, the full team totaled about 100 people, and they had to sort through tens of thousands of clips. The result looks like a highlight reel of disjointed scenes that don’t quite connect.
The ad’s visual style aims for “hyperrealism,” but critics say that choice is out of step with the emotional tone people expect during the holidays.
The landscapes are glossy and static, and the motion feels weightless, more like a tech demo than a heartfelt commercial.
Broader AI Hype Faces Market Reality
What’s more, Coca-Cola’s awkward campaign is hitting at the same time tech stocks are wobbling under fears of an AI bubble.
Big names like Nvidia, Palantir, and Amazon have all seen their stock prices slide recently as investors begin to question whether AI companies are overvalued.
Investor Michael Burry, best known for predicting the 2008 financial crash and inspiring the film “The Big Short,” recently bet $1.1 billion against Nvidia and Palantir.
His firm bought options that will pay out if their share prices fall. Burry also wrote on X, “Sometimes, we see bubbles. Sometimes, there is something to do about it. Sometimes, the only winning move is not to play.”
Palantir’s stock dropped nearly 8% on news of Burry’s position, despite the company having just raised its revenue outlook.
CEO Alex Karp hit back in a CNBC interview, accusing Burry and other short-sellers of “trying to call the AI revolution into question.”
Global Markets Reflect Investor Anxiety
But Burry’s bet seems to echo broader market sentiment. On Tuesday, the Nasdaq fell 2%, and the S&P 500 dropped over 1%, marking their biggest single-day losses in nearly a month.
All of the so-called “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks, Nvidia, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Tesla, Alphabet, and Meta, saw losses.
Asian markets were hit even harder on Wednesday.
Japan’s Nikkei and South Korea’s Kospi both dropped more than 5% after hitting record highs just days earlier. SoftBank, one of the most aggressive AI investors, saw its shares plunge more than 10%.
Farhan Badami, a financial analyst at eToro said:
“It seems fatigue over AI and the current earnings run has investors questioning the sustainability of the AI hype,”
He added that AI companies have been spending big without making enough money to justify it.
Jim Reid, an analyst at Deutsche Bank, said: “The last 24 hours have brought a clear risk-off move, as concerns over lofty tech valuations have hit investor sentiment.”
Even Bitcoin has taken a hit. The cryptocurrency briefly fell below $100,000 for the first time since June, wrapping up its worst month in a decade.
A Holiday Ad That Reflects the AI Moment
In that context, Coca-Cola’s AI-generated holiday ad feels more like a symptom than an outlier.
Slick, soulless, and expensive, it doesn’t evoke the cozy nostalgia of past Coke Christmas campaigns.
Instead, it captures the uneasy feeling that everyone’s throwing money at AI, and not always getting what they hoped for.