- Coca-Cola has produced its yearly Christmas advert, this time made entirely with a text-to-video AI generator.
- Due to its partnership with OpenAI, the video is likely made using the Sora video generator.
- Unless Coca-Cola also makes a live-action advert this year, hundreds of people lost out on gainful employment.
Unlike last year’s advert which contained real actors, real sets, real props, real camerawork, and a real message, this year’s 30-second generation lacks any real substance.
The internet is malding over Coca-Cola’s Christmas advert for 2024 which was made entirely using a text-to-video AI generator, and likely a few passes in a video editor to make sure the Coca-Cola logo wasn’t riddled with generation artifacts.
You can watch the video below, titled “The Holiday Magic is coming.”
The video is likely a teaser for an actual live-action advert – we hope – and is a brilliant stroke of marketing from Coca-Cola’s team. As WCW (yes, the wrestling company) director Eric Bischoff would say “Controversy creates cash.”
Everyone is seemingly writing about the advert which we won’t really be describing because it’s the most generic American Christmas imagery possible. It is unfortunately limited by the current scope of text-to-video technology from companies like OpenAI, Adobe and others.
These software can only produce short animations, a few seconds each, spliced together to create the illusion of a longer video. The real value comes in just how well they can produce interesting visuals in such a short span of time.
The Coca-Cola Company says the video was created with “Real Magic AI” which is its branding spin on OpenAI’s technology. Last year it announced that it would be using Dall-E to generate Coca-Cola marketing imagery in a larger partnership with the ChatGPT-creator.
We’re likely watching the first high-profile use of OpenAI’s Sora in marketing.
If Coca-Cola doesn’t produce a longer live-action video this year, then this 30-second AI-made clip is part of a bigger problem.
2023’s video, at just shy of two minutes long, was a big production. The company likely spent thousands on it, and employed hundreds, including actors, extras, stunt drivers, special effects technicians, lighting guys, camera guys, a prop department, CGI technicians, editors and likely several nameless, background producers and assistants making it all happen.
With the Sora-generated video, we’re downgrading to a small art department at most. Realistically, two or three people to input prompts, splice together the animations and then have an editor clean it up.
At least watchers generally dislike the idea of using AI to make video adverts. “The Holiday Magic is coming” has over 11K dislikes to just 1K likes on YouTube.
Have we mentioned that we really hope the soft drink giant makes a real Christmas advert this year?
