Coca-Cola recently launched a series of AI-generated Christmas ads that have been met with mockery and disgust on social media.

AI-generated video is gradually making its way into advertising, with new models capable of producing short clips that, at first glance, might seem like real footage. Last June, Toys “R” Us tested AI for an ad that featured unsettlingly odd imagery, prompting backlash online. Now, Coca-Cola has released three AI-generated ads that have triggered a similar reaction.

How Were the Coca-Cola AI Ads Made?

Three AI studios—Secret Level, Silverside AI, and Wild Card—worked together on these ads, using generative models like Leonardo, Luma, and Runway, with a new model called Kling added later in production. Despite the high-tech tools, the ads underscore the limitations of current video-generation models.

One of the biggest challenges in AI video production is rendering human figures without creating grotesque distortions, unnatural movements, or eerie facial expressions. Jason Zada, founder of Secret Level, spoke to Ad Age about the process, noting that Kling was particularly useful in making human motion look “more realistic.”

The most widely discussed of the Coca-Cola ads is the only one featuring humans—though the other two feature cute, furry animals. The ad is relatively simple and less complex than the viral Toys “R” Us AI ad. It’s essentially a fast-paced montage of short clips, focusing on vehicles and close-ups of smiling faces, elements that are easier for generative AI to replicate.

What Happens in the AI-Generated Coca-Cola Ad?

The ad pays homage to Coca-Cola’s iconic 1995 Christmas campaign, “Holidays Are Coming.” The brand is so closely tied to the festive season that many mistakenly believe it created Santa’s red-and-white suit (though, in reality, Coca-Cola ads helped popularize the look).

In this AI version, we see red delivery trucks adorned with Christmas lights and images of Santa Claus, plus a few shots of smiling customers, one holding a Coke bottle. These shots are incredibly brief, as the ad rushes through them so quickly that it’s hard to take in the details.

Unlike the 90s ad, the people in this version don’t linger on screen for long, likely to avoid triggering the “uncanny valley” effect. Notably, Santa Claus himself doesn’t appear; only his exaggerated, rubbery hand clutching a Coke bottle is visible. One can only imagine the unsettling AI-generated faces of Santa that were scrapped during production—truly a nightmare in the making.

Other small but noticeable mistakes abound: truck wheels slide across the ground without spinning, and the trucks entering the city are distorted, with bystanders appearing far too large to fit through the truck doors. Some Christmas lights and buildings also feature bizarre, nonsensical shapes that are easy to overlook but quickly pointed out by internet users.

As one commentator quipped, “10 cuts in 15 seconds, never showing the same thing twice, still looks wrong. Truly a powerful technology.”

Interestingly, the AI models struggle to generate coherent text, which is why Coca-Cola logos are added manually to the footage. Zada admitted that even something as simple as an AI-generated squirrel proved difficult, with hundreds of failed attempts before settling on a usable shot.

Criticism and Concerns About AI in Advertising

Many people, especially those in the film and television industry, were unimpressed by the AI-generated ads. Some criticized the technology as a way for large corporations to cut creative teams and boost profits by using machines to churn out cheap, lackluster content. Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch sarcastically joked that Coca-Cola was red because it was made “from the blood of out-of-work artists.”

Megan Cruz of The Broad Perspective Pod echoed similar concerns: “This is always what [AI] was going to be used for. It’s not some great equalizer. It’s a way for already massively wealthy execs to add a few more mil to their annual bonuses by cutting creative teams entirely & having a machine vomit up the most boring slop imaginable.”

Ironically, the ads do little to showcase generative AI as a useful tool. Instead of innovating, they mimic an old, successful ad—made by humans—that still resonates decades later. Generative AI, it seems, doesn’t truly “create.” It rehashes and distorts what’s come before, often producing glitchy, uncanny versions of human-made art, all while consuming massive amounts of energy.

There’s a reason Santa’s workshop is portrayed as a place where toys are handcrafted—because that’s where the magic happens.