The concept of “sociopolitical war” has become so broad that it feels, at times, reductive. It’s broad enough to cover everything, from coffee chains to cookie ads, but predictable enough that group ideas fall along well-worn party lines. But now, a new kind of culture war is taking place among the creative class – one that runs deep into art and personal identity.
At the heart of it is the debate over the use of artificial intelligence, the technology behind tools such as ChatGPT, DALL-E and MidJourney. While some hail AI as a breakthrough, enabling near-click-of-the-button speed and innovation in industries from marketing to medicine, many see it as a serious threat to the manufacturing industry.
The debate over the role of AI in the creative industry has come in unexpected ways over the past year and has reached a fever pitch in recent months. Last fall, Zelda Williams, daughter of the late Robin Williams, denounced the reproduction of her father’s voice by AI, calling them fraudulent and done without permission. During the summer, the Grammy-winning Tedeschi Trucks Band apologized to fans after realizing that one of their tour posters – sold as a commercial – had been created by AI. In October, CNN reported on the rise of AI-powered virtual K-pop bands in South Korea, while some US-based crowdfunding platforms introduced laws banning campaigns relying entirely on AI-generated content.
Amidst this growing divide, Coca-Cola entered the conversation with a powerful move: the release of a new Christmas commercial created using generative AI, placing the global brand at the heart of a controversial debate.
Festive flashpoint
The Coca-Cola commercial in question, released earlier this month, features all the familiar elements of a fantasy holiday: families exchanging smiles, people wearing knitted scarves and gloves holding transparent glass bottles, big red trucks rumbling down snowy roads. This image is an unmistakable reference to the company’s 1995 “Holidays Are Coming” commercial, which was made using human actors and real trucks.
But this time, Coca-Cola promises commercial “real magic” is not collected on the set or the sound stage. Instead, it was made to exist with artificial intelligence and featured otherworldly touches, like a frozen village that melts in a Coke bottle here, or a self-sustaining gingerbread house there.
According to Forbes, the video was a collaboration with three AI studios – Secret Level, Silverside AI and Wild Car – using four different artificial intelligence models, a kind of artistic choreography. Each studio created their own version of the ad (although Silverside’s AI developer, Chris Barber, has since clarified on X, formerly Twitter, that the current version of the ad was not their studio’s contribution).
The result is a polished holiday spot that looks like it could have been plucked from any of the rough Coca-Cola commercials years ago. In a statement, a Coca-Cola spokesperson said, “The Coca-Cola Company has celebrated a long history of capturing the magic of the holidays in content, film, events and retail experiences for decades around the world.”
“We are always looking for new ways to connect with customers and try different methods,” the statement continued. “This year, we created films through the collaboration of storytellers and the creative power of AI. Coca-Cola will always be dedicated to creating the highest level of work at the intersection of human skills and technology.”
However, many manufacturers and consumers were quick to criticize the campaign as a sign of the disturbing trend of replacing human skills with machine-made substitutes. For example, Alex Hirsch, the creator of the beloved Disney series “Gravity Falls,” joked online that Coca-Cola’s signature red color is now “made with the blood of idlers,” while other social media commentators have explained. advertising as “catastrophic” and “dystopian.”
“Coca-Cola just released an ad and it ruined Christmas,” Dylan Pearce, a TikTok user, said of the ad. “Getting rid of lows like this just destroys the Christmas spirit.”
A great war
The debate over Coca-Cola’s commercialism is just the latest in a growing culture war between the creative class. A similar controversy arose earlier this year when Apple faced backlash for an iPad Pro ad that showed products – brushes, paints, canvases, musical instruments, typewriters – being printed with a hydraulic press, a message that many saw as a rejection of traditional methods. of digital devices.
Proponents of artificial intelligence often compare this moment to past technological disruptions, such as the invention of photography or the rise of digital printing. They argue that every mistake faced by your own disbelief has not become a standard tool for designers. But critics say this comparison is off the mark. Generative AI isn’t just increasing creativity – it’s changing the economics of creative work.
While a traditional ad campaign might require weeks of brainstorming plans, focus groups and clever creative schedules, AI can spit out a ready-made storyboard in minutes. Coca-Cola’s ad makes light of this fear, even if, as Shelly Palmer, a professor of journalism at Syracuse University, said in a recent blog post, “it’s annoying.”
In an industry where holiday campaigns are major cultural touchstones — think of the iconic Coca-Cola polar bears or the “Holidays Are Coming” truck — replacing traditional culture with AI feels, to some, like selling out. This is especially true after Pratik Thakar, Coca-Cola’s vice president and the company’s global head of AI development, discussed the benefits of budgeting and speeding up the project in a recent interview with Ad Age.
So, for every artist who sees AI as a tool to expand their imagination, there is another who sees it as a threat to their way of life. Coca-Cola’s Christmas ad, for all its bright visuals, is more than just an advertising campaign. It is a litmus test for the future of manufacturing in an increasingly automated world. For the brand, the move was a calculated risk – and one they are not ignoring despite the divided response from viewers.
“The Coca-Cola Company has celebrated a long history of capturing the magic of the holidays in content, film, events and marketing activities for decades around the world,” a company spokesperson said in a statement provided to The New York Times. “This year, we created films through the collaboration of storytellers and the power of artificial intelligence”
Meanwhile, the holidays – and the culture wars – continue.