Coca-Cola has found themselves in a controversy over their recently released A.I.-generated Christmas advertisement, and they deserve every bit of backlash they’ve received.
I’ve come to find that using the term “A.I. art” feels a bit disingenuous. If you consider “art” to be remotely connected to the human experience or require any level of thought, then it’s not quite right to say that A.I. is capable of making “art” at all.
It is, however, capable of plagiarising the work of real human artists. Using A.I. to generate “art” doesn’t actually create anything original; rather, the computer program simply inhales a variety of pre-existing content created by human beings and regurgitates it into a conglomerated collage of lifeless visuals with no true artistry in its creation.
It’s not just insulting to real artists, it’s a threat to real artists.
Workers in creative industries rightfully fear for the future of their careers. After all, to a money-hungry corporation hell-bent on pinching pennies at the expense of their employees, the idea of using A.I. to replace human artists — who want inconvenient things like “workers’ rights” and a “bi-weekly paycheque” — is likely quite inviting. Why would they pay an artist to complete their work when they could use A.I. to generate it in three seconds for free?
That’s why it’s so disappointing to see Coca-Cola’s annual Christmas ad rely so heavily on A.I. generation.
Visually, the whole ad looks pretty much perfect. We see polar bears nestled up in an igloo watching TV, Coca-Cola trucks driving through the streets of snow-covered towns and even a satellite floating above the Earth’s atmosphere lit up in beautiful lights. To someone who’s never heard of A.I., this might be the most remarkable Christmas ad ever created.
But once you start to look at the ad a bit closer, it becomes clear that something’s a little… off.
The visuals in the ad are somehow too perfect, sporting a plastic-like sheen that’s attempting to emulate reality rather than actually capture it in the moment. The Coca-Cola trucks driving into the sunset look like the logo’s been slapped on in post-production, not sharing the same visual ambience as the rest of the scene. There’s a slight blur throughout the entire video (minus the strangely bright Coca-Cola logos). There is a dog wagging its tail outside in the snow, but its eyes are completely lifeless. It all culminates to create an eerie, fictionalised world that feels like it came straight out of the Uncanny Valley.
To someone with no understanding of A.I. “art,” these effects might not be instantly recognizable. But once you understand it’s been completely generated by a soulless machine, the off-putting visuals start to make more sense.
What’s even more strange is that Coca-Cola worked with three A.I. companies to create the ad, meaning it wasn’t simply generated using a pre-existing A.I. program in a matter of seconds. They likely had to pay a decent sum for this, which begs the question as to why they wouldn’t just create a live-action ad featuring real people instead.
While this isn’t necessarily surprising given Coca-Cola has dabbled in A.I. generated products before, it’s especially disappointing to see it used in this way because of the company’s cherished history with Christmas.
The new ad is actually meant to be a re-imagining of Coca-Cola’s popular 1995 Christmas ad “Holidays are Coming,” which is quite similar in content but produced with real actors, trucks and Christmas spirit. There’s something inherently nostalgic about the original 1995 advertisement; it feels like it was made with love and care.
The soulless A.I. remake shows that Coca-Cola completely misunderstands what made the original ad so special. It’s not just the imagery of trucks driving down snowy roads, it’s the excitement on the children’s faces as they watch the trucks drive by and the genuinely warm, Christmassy feeling that the video exudes.
How disappointing that the company has completely lost their way.
Thankfully, many viewers of the new ad seem to agree, as the 2024 ad’s comment section is full of angry comments. Hopefully, these sorts of reactions will show major companies that consumers don’t appreciate this attack on artists.
But until the negative impacts of controversy outweigh the financial benefit of replacing paid artists, greedy executives will have no desire to opt out of A.I. generated works like this one. It’s a scary time to be an artist, knowing that computer programs are stealing your work online and might eventually use it to replace you.
Coca-Cola isn’t just spitting on their legacy — they’ve insulted every person who’s ever shown genuine passion in creating art.