Coca-Cola’s holiday ads are iconic, and for 2024, the brand combined human-centered storytelling with visuals powered by generative AI. Featuring classic red Coca-Cola trucks, snowy streets, and playful animals, the campaign aimed to connect with consumers through the intersection of creativity and technology.
This is not the brand’s first foray into AI visuals and while such work (by many brands) has consistently met with industry backlash, consumers to date have largely embraced the approach – even if unaware of the role of AI. Viewers of Coke’s “Silver Santa” were no different.
Here’s what iSpot’s Creative Assessment platform revealed on actual viewer response to the campaign.
The Details:
- American viewers expressed very positive response to the :65 “Silver Santa,” ranking the AI visuals as the Single Best Thing about the spot at above-norm rates, as well as the brand:
- The creative sparked Nostalgia at very high levels in line with the brand’s holiday objectives, with plenty of Love It response seen in viewer comments as well.
- “Silver Santa” ranks in the very top percentile of soda ads over the past five years in overall response, while boasting top ranks (past year) in Watchability, Information, Change, Desire, and Relevance (and 99th in breakthrough).
- The positive impact was also seen in a purchase intent rate that exceeded soda one-year norms by +8 pts (to 68% Top 2 Box).
- The creative sparked Nostalgia at very high levels in line with the brand’s holiday objectives, with plenty of Love It response seen in viewer comments as well.
- 65% of all consumer sentiment on “Silver Santa” was positive, with nostalgia (mentioned in 70% of sentiment) and holidays (43% mentions) highlights for viewers, as was the Coke brand:
- Viewer comments reflected some pushback on the use of AI, but negative-leaning sentiment was limited to 8% of all sentiment.
Sample comments on “Silver Santa” :65
“Freaking best ad/commercial that I’ve seen in a long time. The graphics were outstanding. All the cute animals. And of course, Coca-Cola, proudly displayed in its classic red and white. Quite an ad. You guys hit it out of the park!!”
Male 36-49
“This is a fun festive ad. I liked the outdoor scenes and the adorable animals, especially the polar bears, puffins, and dogs. I like the seamless integration of Coke into the scenes.”
Female 36-49
“This is the best ad I have seen all year. It was almost like an animated movie – very magical and it made you crave a Coke. An ice-cold Coke would be so great right now!”
Female 36-49
“I absolutely love the ad. The scenery and the music it all went together so well, I love how they included Christmas time. And the lights all over were beautiful.”
Female 16-20
“I love how vibrant and colorful and cheerful it was. The music just added to how fun and happy it was. Made me want to buy a fresh Coca-Cola!”
Male 16-20
- Second-by-second trace shows a marked difference in the level of engagement with the ad by age, with younger viewers less likely to engage or remain engaged.
- Commentary reflects a notably less positive response among younger viewers 16-20 as well, but emotional profiling still shows strong positive emotions sparked.
- The :30 “Spritemas: Sprite Cranberry” ad also evoked Nostalgia and Love It response; however, the ad placed about at soda norms in most performance areas:
Ineffective creative, even if delivered to the right audience, results in missed opportunity and performance shortfalls. Great creative delivered poorly also results in failed campaigns.
Schedule a demo to find out how your brand can partner with iSpot to quickly solve both challenges simultaneously, delivering high-performing creative while boosting the effectiveness of planning and in-market execution to achieve—and outperform—campaign objectives.
Creative Agency: Secret Level/Silverside AI/Wild Card