The holidays have always been a tapestry woven from threads of shared memories, but Coca-Cola’s 2025 holiday ad campaign is taking a gamble by prioritizing AI-generated efficiency over heartfelt nostalgia. This decision raises a critical question: Can the essence of nostalgia endure when the human element is stripped away?
California during spring break promised a sunny escape, especially for someone hailing from Massachusetts. My bags were packed with beachwear, eager for the sun-soaked shores of Los Angeles. Yet, fate had other plans. Instead of basking in the coastal warmth, I found myself nearly 100 miles inland, shivering in the snow at Big Bear Mountain, dressed inadequately for the 7,000-foot elevation. It was a surreal twist—traveling all the way from the chilly Northeast only to find myself amidst a winter wonderland reminiscent of home, rather than the Southern California I’d envisioned.
Once inside the cabin, the biting cold was quickly forgotten. The place exuded a comforting warmth that enveloped you immediately. Owned by my ex-husband’s aunt, a fellow New Englander, the cabin was her personal tribute to Christmas. Tin Santas adorned the walls, ceramic polar bears lined the shelves, and oversized pine cones filled a basket by the hearth. An old Coca-Cola fridge, with its nostalgic hum, stood proudly in the corner, enhancing the Hallmark movie set vibe. It was the perfect setting for any holiday skeptic to fall in love with the season’s charm.
In that cozy space, surrounded by Coca-Cola memorabilia, a realization dawned on me. This wasn’t mere brand loyalty; it was a universal language. Coca-Cola had bottled a particular memory and sold it back to us, with the 1995 holiday ad being a prime example. The commercial, with its iconic glowing trucks navigating snowy landscapes, encapsulated the spirit of Christmas. Coca-Cola wasn’t just offering a beverage; it was offering a seat at the holiday table.
Fast forward to 2025, and the reappearance of the AI-crafted holiday ad feels unsettling. Despite the picturesque snow and twinkling lights, the emotional connection is absent. It prompts one to question if a cherished childhood memory can truly be manufactured, or if the very technology designed to preserve magic is, in fact, extinguishing it.
Coca-Cola’s influence on holiday imagery is undeniable. They didn’t just join the holiday celebrations—they defined them. As noted by the Atlanta History Center, prior to the 1930s, Santa Claus was often portrayed as a ghostly elf or a thin bishop. It was Haddon Sundblom’s iconic illustrations for Coca-Cola that transformed Santa into the “warm, friendly, pleasantly plump” figure we recognize today.
That’s why seeing the AI-generated holiday ad return this year, in 2025, feels so jarring. The snow and the glowing lights are there, but the feeling isn’t. It makes you wonder whether a childhood memory can be generated at all, or if the technology meant to keep the magic alive is actually smothering it.
The Santa We Know (And The One We Don’t)
Haddon Sundblom didn’t just paint a mascot; he painted a neighbor. His Santa was modeled after a retired salesman friend, Lou Prentiss, grounding the myth in a specific human warmth that no algorithm has yet replicated.
getty
Coca-Cola didn’t just show up for the holidays. They told us what Santa looked like. According to the Atlanta History Center, before the 1930s, Santa Claus was often depicted as a spooky elf or a gaunt bishop. It wasn’t until Haddon Sundblom began his legendary run of illustrations for Coke that the “warm, friendly, pleasantly plump” Santa became the global standard.
Even the famous polar bears, which debuted in 1993, were born from a human moment. The History Center notes that the animation was based on the campaign creator Ken Stewart’s own Labrador puppy. These weren’t just marketing assets; they were characters born from human observation.
The Trucks That Defined Christmas
For the 1995 ‘Holidays Are Coming’ campaign, Industrial Light & Magic built physical miniatures and used thousands of real incandescent bulbs to create iconic glow
Moment Editorial/Getty Images
Then came the trucks. The 1995 “Holidays Are Coming” ad worked because it was a feat of genuine craft. Coca-Cola didn’t just ask a computer to “imagine a truck”; they hired Industrial Light & Magic, the wizards behind Star Wars, to bring the vision to life. The physicality of the trucks, the warmth of the incandescent bulbs, and the cinematic quality made it feel grounded in reality.
The irony is that Coca-Cola still relies on that reality. Even as they flood our feeds with AI-generated renders, they are simultaneously running their Holiday Caravan tour across the country. Right now, families are bundling up to go stand in front of a real truck, take photos with a real Santa, and buy physical merchandise from the holiday store.
This creates a strange disconnect. The brand is betting on the efficiency of AI for our screens, yet relying on the heavy lifting of reality for our streets. The fact that the Caravan tour remains a massive draw proves that the symbols aren’t enough on their own. They need to be anchored in the real world. We don’t just want to see the truck generated by a prompt; we want to see the breath steam in the air next to it.
What Happens When Nostalgia Goes Artificial?
That’s why the return of the AI-generated holiday ad this year hits such a sour note. Remember last year? In 2024, Coke tried to modernize this legacy using generative AI. They worked with studios like Secret Level and Silverside AI to render snowy landscapes without ever picking up a camera. The backlash was instant. People called it soulless, dystopian, and cheap.
Yet, despite that reception, Coca-Cola has doubled down. The technology is better this time around, but the result still leaves us cold. Executives are share that this year’s technology achieves “physics-driven realism,” allowing them to scale content faster than ever. The issue is that this confuses physics with feeling. The ad captures the texture of the snow, but not the sensation of the cold.
The digital perfection highlights exactly what is missing: the human imperfection that makes a moment feel real. Coca-Cola has defended the move by noting that the campaign’s music was performed by real artists—a strange consolation. It feels like a restaurant promising that while the steak is synthetic, at least the salt is organic.
Why Manufactured Nostalgia Feels Fragile
CARDIFF, UNITED KINGDOM – NOVEMBER 16: Three women take a selfie in front of the Coca Cola truck in Cardiff city centre on November 16, 2019 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. (Photo by Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)
Getty Images
Nostalgia isn’t just about what we see; it’s about emotion, memory, and connection. Algorithms can’t fully grasp that.
Back in that cabin on Big Bear, I didn’t feel the sharp excitement of a kid unwrapping a toy. I felt something enduring. In that moment, Coca-Cola became bigger than a brand. It was a visual language that connected people to a shared feeling.
New research confirms that this missing “soul” isn’t just a vibe—it’s a real problem. A study published this week in the International Journal of Information Management highlights the risk of replacing human creativity with synthetic media. The research suggests that while AI can replicate visual patterns, it fails to replicate the “perceived authenticity” required to build trust.
By ignoring this, Coca-Cola isn’t just taking a creative risk; it’s betting against its audience. The glossier the video gets, the more eerie it feels to the viewer.
The Magic That Algorithms Can’t Replace
People are seen at the Old Market Square at the Coca Cola sponsored Christmas event on December 2, 2017, in Bydgoszcz, Poland. GDP forecast by the EC for Poland has gone up by nearly two thirds of a percent and the average gross monthly wage rose by more than 7 percent to 1,273 USD. (Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NurPhoto via Getty Images
Coca-Cola’s holiday ads have always been more than marketing—they’ve been invitations to join in the magic of the season. But as this year’s campaign shows, the emotional connection that defines nostalgia can’t be manufactured.
In food culture, trust is built on shared experiences. Nostalgia thrives on authenticity—the kind that grows over years, not pixels. Coca-Cola can adopt new tools, but the magic only holds when the work still feels human. That’s what built their holiday mythology in the first place, and it’s what this year’s AI campaign can’t quite touch.
The polar bears might not be real, but the feelings they evoke are. And in a world of AI-generated everything, those feelings are more valuable than ever.
