To think, there was a time (not even that long ago) when the holiday season didn’t feel complete without the yearly Coca-Cola Christmas ad. It was one of those traditions nobody could ever really escape, but they made it fun and whimsical, at least.
Not anymore.
For the second year in a row, Coca-Cola is choosing to run an AI-generated ad. Why? Why not, apparently. It’s cheaper, of course (is it?) and, according to Pratik Thakar, the global VP and head of generative AI at Coca-Cola, the public view on AI has drastically shifted.
If you recall, last year’s ad was plagued with issues. You’d think that, plus the backlash, would have changed their minds. Nope. Said Thakar, “Last year, people criticized the craftsmanship. But this year the craftsmanship is ten times better…But if the majority of consumers see it in a positive way, it’s worth going forward.”
I’d much rather the Grinch ruin Christmas, because at least he just committed physical theft before realizing he was wrong and returning everything. Thakar is probably incapable of realizing how wrong he is. If you presented him with a crowd of people joyfully singing about how much better off the world would be without AI, I doubt he’d listen.
Nobody wants AI. Nobody! It is a robot that cannot think like a human. All it does is steal IP, and even then it messes up. With this ad, especially, Santa Claus’s reveal at the end is too-much-Botox levels of horrifying. Animate the ad, for god’s sake. Even if it’s the creepy uncanny valley animation from The Polar Express. That I can at least enjoy!
The sad thing is, nothing represents the current state of our level of capitalism like this. Corporations would rather cut corners while the majority of Americans struggle financially going into the holiday season than try to give us something actually joyful.
I’d say they should be ashamed–and I do, really–but I also don’t think they know what shame is. At the end of the day, it’s all simply about the money they can make that they saved by denying people with actual creativity a chance. Just give me back the polar bears.
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