Coca-Cola releases 2025 AI-generated holiday ad with animal cast

Coca‑Cola on Tuesday unveiled its 2025 holiday commercial, again produced largely with generative artificial intelligence, reviving the brand’s familiar Holidays Are Coming theme with a caravan of red trucks and a cast of AI‑rendered animals. The spot replaces realistic human bystanders with polar bears, a panda and even a sloth, and culminates with a hyperrealistic Santa Claus waving at the camera. The company said the campaign was assembled in roughly one month with the help of two AI production partners and about 100 people, including five AI specialists who curated more than 70,000 generated video clips to create the final edit.

The new ad is presented by Coca‑Cola as a technical improvement on last year’s AI holiday effort, which drew criticism for awkward facial features and motion artifacts. Company executives defended the decision to continue using generative tools, arguing that the workflow shortens timelines and reduces costs. Pratik Thakar, global vice president and head of generative AI at Coca‑Cola, said in an interview, "Last year people criticized the craftsmanship. But this year the craftsmanship is ten times better." The company’s chief marketing officer noted...