As we near the close of 2024, BITE is wrapping up the top 10 moments of the past year and what learnings marketers can take with them into the new year. Number 9 in our chart is Coca-Cola’s AI generated Christmas ad.

‘I feel like I'm watching the death of art and our planet unfold in front of my eyes and no one irl [in real life] seems to care.’

Just what world ending calamity can this X user be commenting on, as republished in the Daily Mail? The fact that Coca-Cola’s Christmas advert has been developed solely using AI.

Since 1995 Coca-Cola’s ‘Holidays are Coming’ advert has signalled the start of the festive season. Yet the 2024 season was accompanied by a Daily Mail headline that the soft drink giant ‘faces huge backlash for replacing humans with AI in its much-loved ‘Holidays are Coming’ Christmas advert.’ Prompting the newspaper to ask ‘How are we letting this happen?’

Yet even a cursory read of the full article (reader I don’t recommend it, but linked here) underlines that the source of this ‘huge backlash’ appears to be little more than a bunch of random dudes on X. How reliable a source these commentators are for the industry should perhaps be considered through the lens of Kantar’s Media Reactions 2024 report. Just 4% of marketers still think ads on X provide brand safety.

But so pervasive is the narrative of brand backlash in sections of the British press, that you don’t need to actually have a backlash to report one. As the Unstereotype Alliance’s Creative Bravery Beyond the Backlash report underlines so clearly, the myth of backlash risks holding brands back creatively. Regardless of the industry reaction to the spot, it is important to look beyond the noisy voices of social media as a bellwether of a campaign’s success.

An industry in flux

Three AI studios (Secret Level, Silverside AI and Wild Card) worked to create these ads, using the generative AI models Leonardo, Luma and Runway.

Clearly these AI-generated ads highlight the weaknesses and hard limitations of the current wave of video-generation models, yet they should not be taken as a red flag for the evolution of AI in advertising as a whole.

Arguably the industry reaction to the spot, which was largely negative, underlines the unease which still surrounds AI in the creative industries. There is no question that there are genuine reasons for concern, yet arguably the biggest threat is being completely overlooked in the midst of the industry-wide navel gazing.

AI is exacerbating bias in the creative industries and amplifying inequality. ChatGPT has over 180.5 million users, of which 66% are men and only 34% are women. When men dominate ChatGPT to such a degree it is clear how AI can simply amplify the loudest voices.

In a year where brands are investing more in AI and cutting back on investment in DEI a perfect storm is afoot. The uncomfortable truth is that 2024 has seen leaders at both brands and agencies celebrate their innovation in AI by showcasing work promoting toxic body ideals for women and stereotyping.

Generative AI vomiting up an ironed-out, dead-eyed wafer thin ideal of womanhood is not evidence of innovation in marketing.

The AI advantage

Yet, the uncomfortable truth is that by collectively leaning into an industry debate that is ‘for or against’ AI, we miss the opportunity to be in the driving seat of this change.

Genuine change is rarely incremental and the conversation in agencies and brands surrounding AI appears increasingly disconnected. Innovative brands are increasingly focused on how they can win with AI, through an audience-first lens.

Consider for example the media owner, which has historically been poor at connecting with female consumers, revolutionising their archive by giving women an equal share of voice. Or the consumer healthcare brand which could utilise AI to give marketers a clearer and more genuine insight into the closed conversations between patients and healthcare providers.

As the BrandTech group proved this year with the launch of its Bias Breaker tool, there is a huge role for agencies in helping brands navigate both the opportunity and the responsibility that comes hand in hand with utilising AI responsibly.

AI raises huge questions at scale, but it also affords brands the ability to create solutions and understand consumers at scale. If 2024 was an inflection point for AI in the creative industries, then 2025 must be the year where we ensure fear doesn’t get in the way of progress.