Coca-Cola has basically been the unofficial sponsor of holiday cheer for almost a century. Case in point: the Santa Claus you know and love—the one with rosy cheeks, a white beard, and a red suit? That’s Coca-Cola’s doing.
Back in 1931, the brand hired artist Haddon Sundblom to bring the poem A Visit from St. Nicholas to life in a way that matched Coca-Cola’s branding. Before that, Santa was all over the map—tall, thin, scary, or dressed in every color of the rainbow. Sundblom’s Santa changed all that, making the warm, plump, human version a worldwide standard.
Fast forward to 2025, and Coca-Cola decided to give the holidays a modern twist—by using AI. The result? An ad titled “Created by Real Magic AI” that left audiences asking the polite question: “What the heck did we just watch?”
@becauseofmarketing_ The Coca Cola Company unveil their 2025 holiday advert created using AI. What do you think of the advert? #christmasadvert #christmasmarketing #christmasads2025 #cocacolachristmas #cocacolaai
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Coca-Cola’s AI Santa: Cute Idea, Confusing Execution
The commercial focused on animal characters and a Santa that… well, looked more uncanny than cuddly. Joe Russo, co-director of Marvel blockbusters, didn’t hold back. On X (formerly Twitter), he called it an “uncanny valley nightmare” and explained that the animation, despite being AI-generated, didn’t capture the warmth that Coca-Cola’s holiday ads are famous for.
Ian Fisch, Lead Coder on the game Kingmakers, added his two cents: it’s ironic that a company known for “super processed chemical cocktails” would opt for “cheap artificiality” over human creativity.
Behind the Scenes: AI Isn’t Magic
Here’s the kicker: this one-minute ad reportedly took over 70,000 prompts and 30 days of AI-generated footage to make—and even then, it was “barely usable,” according to Russo. That’s right: after all that AI work, actual VFX artists still had to step in to fix it, polish it, and make it passable. And the cost? About the same as a normal live-action Coca-Cola commercial. So, in the end, AI didn’t save money, time, or sanity.
The Internet Had Fun
Social media reactions were as brutal as they were hilarious. Some users joked it was “the most profitable commercial in Pepsi’s history,” while others admitted they were suddenly craving a different soda entirely. Russo even made a TikTok video breaking down the project, which has over 200,000 likes, showing that people genuinely care about both craft and nostalgia when it comes to holiday traditions.
@joerussotoks Coca Cola’s AI Holiday Commercial took over 70,000 prompts.
A Little Lesson in Human Touch
Here’s the takeaway without the heavy-handed moralizing: not every innovation improves a classic. Coca-Cola’s AI Santa shows us that some things—especially traditions—carry a warmth that algorithms just can’t replicate. AI can help, but human creativity, intuition, and attention to detail still matter. A hand-drawn Santa with rosy cheeks resonates in a way that 70,000 AI prompts simply cannot.
So yes, Coca-Cola tried to modernize a beloved holiday icon. And yes, people noticed… and laughed, critiqued, and debated. But the experiment reminds us that sometimes, the magic of the holidays comes not from technology, but from simple, human storytelling—plus a fizzy drink or two.