Coke hasn’t learned its lesson: The soft drink companies insists on making AI generated commercials | Social media reactions

The AI train is well and truly off the tracks and there is no stopping it. Despite huge backlash from creators and customers alike, companies are still resorting to artificial intelligence to create promotional campaigns, advertisements, and other projects previously carried out by talented individuals who have seen their work dry up overnight.

It’s that time of year again when Coca‑Cola rolls out its festive visuals, only now the sparkly trucks and cosy scenes are being generated in large part by artificial intelligence.

The brand has once more leaned into generative-AI to create its latest holiday campaign, despite the fact that last year’s similarly produced spot drew harsh criticism for looking lifeless, awkward and disconnected from the genuine emotion we’ve come to expect.

This year the production involved fewer people than before, with thousands of AI-generated video clips created by a small team of specialists, aiming to produce the classic “Holidays Are Coming” vibe faster and more cheaply than traditional film methods. And they’re utterly immune to criticism:

Coca-Cola used Los Angeles-based AI studio Secret Level to create the designs, with Jason Zada, the founder and chief creative officer, telling The Hollywood Reporter that “the haters on the Internet are the loudest. A lot of the people complaining last year were from the creative industry who were just afraid — afraid for their jobs, afraid for what it did. But I think the spot tested really well and average people really enjoyed it.”

Leading marketing expert Mara Einstein hit out against the use of AI in commercials, telling one outlet: “I don’t know enough overall about how AI is used, but the one the couple of places I have seen AI used in terms of commercials, I don’t think it’s been particularly effective, because it’s very cold."

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“And so I think, or I hope people are smart enough to realise the deception behind something like that,” she added. ”I think, overall what I’m seeing in terms of AI right now, at least in terms of the creative is very cold and unappealing, and I think it’s not going to be the kind of thing that it’s gonna pull people in.”

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