Overview
- The new commercial was produced by Los Angeles–based AI studio Secret Level and features only animals, with a final Santa image generated from Coca‑Cola’s Haddon Sundblom paintings.
- Coca‑Cola says this year’s craftsmanship is markedly better than last season’s criticized AI spot, and Secret Level’s Jason Zada aims for a look indistinguishable from traditional animation.
- The rollout includes multiple versions, including another AI ad made with Silverside and a traditionally shot version tailored for some Latin American markets.
- Executives describe faster, cheaper production, citing roughly one month of work versus a year and five AI specialists prompting and refining more than 70,000 video clips as part of a roughly 100‑person effort.
- Industry reaction remains divided, with creatives raising labor and aesthetic concerns as outlets like The Verge pan the visuals while Coke emphasizes consumer testing and a broader AI‑led marketing shift.