Coca Cola's 2025 Christmas Campaign

 

I sure did and I have a letter for Coca Cola.

…

Dear Coca Cola…

I’d like to have some words. 
(Well… my 7 year old self would). 

I used to drink your product like it was a sport. 
But for your latest Christmas campaign, you fell short,
No sparkle, no magic, no cheer of the sort.
Please bring back the joy of Christmas, it’s just a thought. 

Love Penelope 

…

I’m a 90s kid and Coca Cola Christmas campaigns used to be some of my favourites. 

For Christmas in my childhood home, we had the Coca Cola polar bear decorations, Coca Cola glasses, stockings, baubles… and we even drank Coca Cola with Christmas lunch. 

For me, Christmas truly means Coca Cola. 

And those old campaigns still make me feel warm and fuzzy.

 

But for their latest Christmas campaign, the magic was lost. 

Instead of a magical dream land, they gave us a nightmare. 

A nightmare of poorly rendered animals running around in the snow with too much motion blur, finished with a jingle to mask it all. 

Instead of a warm inviting feeling to visit my family, enjoy a crisp Coca Cola and be joyful for Christmas, I felt disconnected like I was viewing a dystopian world. 

It was a flat, dull, 2 dimensional feeling.

 

And that’s because it was all fake. 

(Well the story also sucked and I don’t think we see anyone even drink a coke).

…

But now they've taken him off payroll.  
 
Does this billion dollar corporation think their campaigns are “good enough” because they saved a few bucks?

In 2024, the Coca Cola Christmas campaign was also AI but it was almost the exact same storyboard. Talk about low on ideas? 

In 2023, the campaign was The World Needs More Santas and it was a fantastic way to showcase a "bit of Santa in everyone" - adorable and FULL of Christmas spirit. 

Here’s a quote from the 2023 Global Creative, Strategy and Content Lead.

“The world always needs reminders of what makes us more human. The core of humanity is kindness, generosity, and goodwill…  - Islam ElDessouky 

 

...

The 2025 Christmas campaign using AI assistance cost them roughly $1M-$3M. Taking around 1 month with 100 people.

If they had of used real animators, it would have cost roughly $3M-$6M. Taking around 4-8 months with 200-400 people.

So half the price and less time but not a significant difference. 

For a company like Coca Cola this is peanuts in costs and minutes in their strategy. 

For what?

So they can trash their brand values and their mission to: “Refresh the world...inspire moments of optimism and happiness...and create value and make a difference"

I see no value or difference. 
I don’t feel happy or optimistic
And I certainly don’t feel refreshed. 

If anything, I feel dehydrated.

So call me a hater because maybe you loved it. 

Or call me a hater because you have bad taste. 

But if we are accepting this level of bland, tasteless, dull creativity from a billion dollar corporation, I worry for the future of art and creativity in general. 

The world needs better taste, and I fear the sweet taste that Coca Cola once was, has now turned sour in my mouth. 

Penelope  

xoxo