Christmas-themed advertisements from soft-drink giant Coca-Cola created using generative artificial intelligence have fallen flat with viewers, with some commenters online calling the commercials “creepy” and “soulless”.

Labelled by the company as made with “Real Magic AI”, the ads follow a fleet of Coca-Cola trucks making their way across snowy landscapes as AI-generated animals and humans look on in anticipation.

In one ad, at the end of the journey, a hand implied to be that of Santa Claus reaches out to share a bottle of cola with an AI-generated crowd figure.

Coca-Cola is known for producing holiday ads every year, and the company has aligned its brand with Christmas and the holiday season owing to its red and white colour scheme.

The new ads pay homage to the company’s iconic 1995 Holidays Are Coming advertisement, which used real actors and sets and showed trucks in a convoy making their way across the wintery landscape.

For its 2024 campaign, Forbes reported that three AI studios (Secret Level, Silverside AI and Wild Card) worked to create scenes for the ads.

The studios were said to have used the generative AI models Leonardo, Luma and Runway, with a new model, Kling, brought in near the end of production.

While a small number of people online have praised Coca-Cola’s innovation and creativity, most of the feedback claimed the campaign was anything but magic.

“Who else finds this very disturbing,” an X/Twitter user remarked.

“Hilarious coming from the company which once used the slogan you can’t beat the real thing,” one commenter wrote.

Others branded the ads “dangerous”, “scary” and “dystopian”, with much of the criticism aimed at the fact human actors were being replaced by AI-likeness.

In a statement to NBC News, Coca-Cola defended the campaign.

A Coca-Cola spokesperson said the company was “always exploring new ways to connect with consumers and experiment with different approaches”.

The spokesperson went on to say the company would “always remain dedicated to creating the highest level of work at the intersection of human creativity and technology”.

Coca-Cola is no stranger to experimenting with AI technology, having previously collaborated with OpenAI for a series of AI-generated ads in 2023.

Titled “Masterpiece”, the ads showed paintings and sculptures in an art museum come to life and pass around a bottle of Coca-Cola.

NBC also reported that the company has commissioned its own global head of generative AI.

In June of this year, toy company Toys “R” Us called their AI-generated advertisement “successful” despite major criticism.

The ad showed a young Charles Lazarus, the late founder of Toys “R” Us, in his family’s bicycle shop alongside the brand mascot, Geoffrey the Giraffe.