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As the holiday season approaches, we’re bombarded with seasonal advertising campaigns from major consumer brands and retailers. Leading the way for almost a century is Coca-Cola, a brand whose advertising is closely tied to Christmas and depictions of Santa Claus.
But for the second year in a row, Coca-Cola is turning to cutting-edge technology to update its long-standing holiday advertising tradition. The brand this week released a “refreshed and optimized version” of its generative artificial intelligence (AI)-developed ad “Holidays Are Coming,” which debuted last year (itself a remake of the 1995 spot).
Although the new ad is once again facing backlash, Coca-Cola remains committed to its AI-powered approach for the holiday season, especially since the ad “off the charts” with consumers, according to Islam Eldesouky, Coca-Cola’s global vice president of creative strategy and content.
“Yes, there is noise, and there are people talking and criticizing, but this is one of the most tested ads in history.” Elde Sookie Said. “The public and the audience don’t necessarily see behind the technology. They just see the stories they’re receiving and react to them.”
In addition to generating high scores on key metrics such as associations and conversion to transactions, the use of AI has also allowed Coca-Cola to leverage a “timeless and timely” framework that balances both fundamental brand values with being experimental and innovative. This risk-taking approach has been fueled by advances in generative AI technologies like OpenAI’s GPT-5, which didn’t exist last year.
“Honestly, we’re going to continue to do this because AI is giving us measurements, metrics, and business results, but at the same time we’re learning how to do things differently,” ElDessouky said of AI. “If we don’t push ourselves and expand our comfort zones, people will just move on without us. We want them to move on with us.”
Balance your brand needs
In addition to Coca-Cola’s large-scale “The Holidays Are Coming” ad, Coca-Cola’s large-scale “Refresh the Holidays” campaign includes separate, more traditional 30-second TV spots that balance three imperatives for the brand: putting the product front and center, focusing on holiday protagonists, and connecting with past holiday efforts.
“A Holiday Memory” is all three, with the story of a mother decorating for the season, remembering past celebrations, and rewarding herself with an old-fashioned Coke. The introduction of the snow globe mirrors the digital experience of last year’s campaign, which turned AI-powered “conversations” with Santa into personalized snow globe assets for social media.
“That’s what we wanted to show.” [snow globe] Because we are a brand that lives for every holiday season. Things are done continuously. I don’t necessarily leave any ideas behind. It’s all part of our big asset bank,” Eldesouky explained.
“A Holiday Memory” will be implemented in North America, Latin America and Asia South Pacific markets. It’s a global approach that speaks to how Coca-Cola is working to personalize and localize campaigns at scale, both for its flagship brand and other brands in its portfolio.
That approach requires deep listening to insights from different markets, human insights, connections and partnerships across media teams. The research revealed that while multiple cohorts relate to Coca-Cola and Christmas, each has different needs and demands, all of which need to be creatively factored in. Brands then validate creative execution before launch and analyze sentiment after the ad goes to market.
“Does this really translate into conversions? Transactions, or transactions and associations? We’d rather have the latter, but even if we only get transactions or associations, it’s still a step in the right direction,” ElDessouky said.
large scale marketing
In addition to the TV spot, ‘Refresh Your Holidays’ will also air on online video, digital, out-of-home, social, in-store and pack channels. Led by VML and developed by WPP Open
For a holiday campaign, culture includes out-of-home creative created for spots and mass audiences, and commerce includes how the campaign is brought to life in retail channels. Community, or where your audience engages, includes everything from CRM programs, creator collaborations, experiential activations, and more. The latter includes touring the brand’s Christmas truck in November and December, which Eldesouky said is particularly important to reach younger audiences.
“Truck tours are really good.” [thing] “That’s something that only Coke can do,” the executive said. “Many brands have assets, like trucks, that are synonymous with them.” [with the brand]. If you don’t take advantage of it…it’s a crime. Because if you have assets, you need to push them out. ”
From trucks to Santa Claus to polar bears, Coca-Cola’s holiday assets remain central to its marketing strategy, especially in the age of generative AI. The company sees this technology as a way to discover new insights and avenues of engagement that they wouldn’t have found otherwise.
“Maybe we’ll arrive at something that people will love and that will become our own lovey-dovey,” Eldesouky said, alluding to the viral stuffed animal. “You might land on something like that, and then it becomes your asset, just like we landed on Santa Claus and the truck. We’re not going to add any more value to the brand without trying and pushing the envelope.”
