The fully AI-generated advert will replace the original ‘Holidays Are Coming’ on UK TV screens this festive period, with Coca-Cola looking to bring the advert “to today’s times”.
‘Holidays Are Coming’ is perhaps one of the most famous festive adverts, running since 1995, but now The Coca-Cola Company has created a new version of the AI-generated advert, which will air on television instead of the original.
The 16-second version will hit screens from today. This is the first time Coca-Cola has produced an entirely AI-generated ad.
The commercial is very similar to the 1995 original, with the same famous soundtrack, trucks and shots of winter roads. But in this version, consumers drink Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, and the cast is more diverse than the original.
Coca-Cola decided this year to bring the nearly 30-year-old advert to “today’s times.” European Marketing Director Javier Meza told Marketing Week earlier this month.
“We didn’t start out saying, ‘OK, we need to do this with AI,’” he said. “The goal was we wanted to bring Holidays Are Coming into the present, and then we explored AI as a solution to that.”
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AI presents an “efficient” way to do this, saving time and money, he noted.
The brand says it is extremely proud of the original creation and the role it played in the lives of many consumers during the first season.
“Having such an element of communication that fits into people’s lives is a privilege. Not all brands have this privilege and it’s something we take very seriously,” Meza said.
The brand pre-tested its new AI-generated ad with consumers, who “loved” the version, he said, giving the company the confidence to proceed with the creation.
In addition to this updated version of Holidays Are Coming, the brand will re-release its festive 2023 ad, “The world needs more Santas”.
Last year’s advertisement The World Needs More Santas earned 5.3 “outstanding” stars on System1’s “Test Your Ad” platform, which serves as a predictor of long-term ad effectiveness. System1’s own research suggests that consistency and respect for creativity can drive increased advertising effectiveness.
While the 2023 Christmas ad achieved an exceptional score in System1’s rankings, it was surpassed last year by the original Holidays Are Coming ad, which earned the top rating of 5.9 stars and was ranked as the UK’s second most effective advertising in 2023 overall.
Coca-Cola takes the potential of generative AI in its business very seriously, Meza said, and is taking an approach “double speed” approach to integrate it into the organization.
