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Yes—Coca-Cola’s 2024 “Holidays Are Coming” remake was made with generative AI, and its reception shows why reproducing a familiar holiday ad is not just a technical challenge. The remake kept the trucks, snow and recognizable musical identity of the 1995 original, but critics found parts of its human imagery uncanny and questioned whether an AI-made version could carry the warmth and craft associated with the tradition.

What was Coca-Cola’s AI holiday commercial?

It was a 2024 remake of Coca-Cola’s iconic 1995 “Holidays Are Coming” commercial. The first public cut was 15 seconds; reporting also described a longer version and three related holiday ads, including one for Coke Zero. The campaign reused the original’s familiar visual language—the illuminated truck convoy, snowy scenes and associated song—while using generative AI to create the imagery.

Contemporary reporting called it Coca-Cola’s first fully AI-generated ad. That description refers to the ad’s production, not to a change in the recognizable campaign concept: the remake deliberately leaned on a commercial many viewers already associated with the holiday season. The Guardian’s coverage reported on the production and audience criticism.

Why does the ad feel uncanny to some viewers?

Critics pointed to synthetic-looking people, faces and motion, as well as very short shots. Those visual details can make an image feel wrong even when the setting is instantly familiar. But the reaction was not only a complaint about image quality. Some viewers also objected to the idea of a beloved, human-associated holiday tradition being reproduced as corporate AI output.

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That distinction matters: a technically recognizable truck and snowy landscape can preserve the campaign’s surface while still feeling emotionally unlike the original. Familiarity raises expectations. When a remake invokes a memory people value, odd-looking faces or movement can make the gap between the old feeling and the new execution more noticeable.

Why did Coca-Cola use AI for a nostalgic remake?

Coca-Cola’s stated brief was to bring “Holidays Are Coming” into the present; the company said it explored AI as a solution rather than starting with a requirement to use AI. Javier Meza, Coca-Cola’s European chief marketing officer, put it this way: “We didn’t start by saying: ‘OK, we need to do this with AI.’ The brief was, we want to bring Holidays Are Coming into the present and then we explored AI as a solution to that.” Creative Bloq reported Meza’s explanation.

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The production also became part of a wider conversation about speed and efficiency versus craft, labor and emotional authenticity. AI can offer a different way to produce visual material, but that alone does not establish what this campaign cost, how much time it saved, or whether it performed better commercially. The available reporting does not provide independently documented cost, sales-lift, view-count or audience-size figures.

How does the 2024 remake compare with the 1995 original?

Aspect 1995 original 2024 remake
Production approach Traditional production with a crew and performance. Generative-AI production; reporting described it as Coca-Cola’s first fully AI-generated ad.
Recognizable elements The truck convoy, snow and campaign song established its holiday identity. Reuses the trucks, snow and associated song to evoke that identity.
Human imagery Presented through conventional filmed performance. Critics described people, faces and motion as synthetic-looking or uncanny.
Stated rationale The supplied reporting does not state a specific production rationale for the 1995 ad. Meza said the brief was to bring the campaign into the present, after which AI was explored as a solution.
Audience response Associated with nostalgia and holiday tradition. Prompted criticism about both visual realism and the authenticity of using AI for a familiar tradition.

The comparison helps explain why reactions were intense: the remake did not introduce an unrelated new concept. It asked viewers to recognize an old one while encountering a different production method and a different feel.

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What the backlash says—and does not say—about AI advertising

The commercial became a compact example of a broader tradeoff. A production method may offer speed or efficiency, while audiences may place value on the human work and performance they believe a familiar campaign represents. If the resulting faces or motion feel artificial, those production choices become part of the message whether or not the advertiser intended them to.

The reaction does not prove that all AI advertising will fail, or that this campaign had a particular sales or audience outcome. Reporting relayed a qualitative result from a branded emotional-reaction comparison, but did not provide its numeric score or full methodology. It is therefore not enough to claim a measured level of success or failure.

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For this ad, the central tension is simpler: Coca-Cola sought to update a recognizable holiday tradition using AI, while some viewers experienced the result as less human than the memory it was designed to evoke.

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