Coca-Cola’s 2025 holiday ad campaign, which leverages generative AI tools like OpenAI’s Sora, Google’s Veo 3, and Luma AI, has drawn both praise and criticism for its technical flaws. The centerpiece of the campaign is a reimagined version of the company’s iconic 1995 “Holidays are Coming” spot, featuring animated Coca-Cola trucks rolling through a festive village. However, viewers have noticed jarring inconsistencies, including trucks that appear to change shape, gain or lose wheels between scenes, and even seem to be on a collision course with a crowd at the 50-second mark. Dino Burbidge, an independent innovation specialist, created a side-by-side comparison to highlight the visual discrepancies, underscoring a common issue with current generative video models: temporal drift. These systems often generate video frame by frame without maintaining a consistent memory of earlier scenes, leading to object and character instability. This lack of continuity is one of the most telltale signs that a video is AI-generated. Despite the glitches, Coca-Cola’s campaign has received strong performance metrics. System1, a brand advertising research firm, gave the ad a perfect 5.9 out of 5.9 stars, the highest possible score, based on its ability to drive long-term brand growth. The company’s research found that the ad evoked strong emotional responses, including happiness and surprise, and maintained high levels of attention and brand recall. Vanessa Chin, System1’s senior vice president of marketing, emphasized that the ad’s success lies in Coca-Cola’s enduring focus on emotional storytelling, even when powered by AI. Another platform, DAIVID, reported that the ad was slightly less likely to generate positive emotions and slightly more likely to trigger distrust compared to industry norms. However, it still outperformed average benchmarks in attention and brand recall, likely due to the strong visual identity of Coca-Cola’s holiday branding. Coca-Cola did not respond to requests for comment. However, Pratik Thakar, the company’s global VP and head of generative AI, told The Hollywood Reporter that the goal isn’t perfection but progress. “There will be people who criticize — we cannot keep everyone 100% happy,” he said. “But if the majority of consumers see it in a positive way, it’s worth going forward.” The campaign was developed by Silverside AI, an innovation lab backed by ad agency Pereira O’Dell. According to a behind-the-scenes video, just five AI specialists refined 70,000 video clips over 30 days using cutting-edge tools. Some post-production tweaks were made to smooth out inconsistencies. Still, critics argue that such flaws undermine consumer trust. Burbidge warned that dismissing technical quality under the premise that “consumers don’t care” could erode the standards of creative excellence. “Craft, creativity, and quality should hold true,” he said. “As soon as we let that go, who’s going to fight for it?” The 2024 AI-driven holiday campaign faced similar backlash, with audiences criticizing unnatural movements and eerie facial expressions in AI-generated characters. Yet Thakar maintained that consumers weren’t focused on whether the ads were AI-made — they cared more about the message and emotion. The Coca-Cola case highlights a growing tension in the advertising world: the push for speed and cost efficiency through AI versus the need for polished, believable storytelling. While early results suggest strong brand engagement, the long-term impact of AI glitches on consumer perception remains uncertain.