Overseas Marketing · Deepege Editorial Team
AI Christmas Ads: What Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Dior Teach Brands for 2026
An AI Christmas ad works when viewers judge it as a good ad first; it backfires when the AI is visibly sloppy or when the brand's story says "handmade" and the frames seem to say otherwise. Coca-Cola has run AI-made versions of "Holidays Are Coming" two years in a row, McDonald's Netherlands pulled its AI Christmas ad three days after release in December 2025, and in November 2026 Dior's holiday film was accused of using AI despite being promoted as hand-illustrated. Below is what each brand did, how people reacted, and six lessons if you plan to use AI in your own Christmas ad.
What this guide covers:
- the three AI Christmas ad cases marketers are searching for, with dates and sources
- what research says about AI-made ads and AI labels
- six practical lessons for an AI holiday ad, plus free tools for the parts AI does well
Which brands have made AI Christmas ads?
Three brand cases come up most. All facts below were checked on November 10, 2026 against the brand's own release or the first detailed report.
| Ad | Source | What AI did (per the brand or maker) | Reaction | Checked | Our take |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coca-Cola "Holidays Are Coming" (2025) | Coca-Cola release, Nov 3, 2025 | Two AI-driven remakes of the 1995 spot, made with Secret Level and Silverside AI; music performed by real artists | Divisive; BBC cited Social Sprout data showing a 61% positive sentiment rating | 2026-11-10 | Works because the idea, trucks and music are 30 years familiar |
| McDonald's Netherlands (2025) | BBC, Dec 10, 2025 | 45-second ad built from generative AI clips, made by TBWA\Neboko and The Sweetshop | Removed Dec 9, three days after release, after "creepy" and "poorly edited" comments | 2026-11-10 | Many short stitched clips showed, and a "most terrible time of the year" message did not help |
| Dior "Christian Dior's Night in Colour" (2026) | Variety, Nov 7, 2026 | Director and producer say no generative AI; automated interpolation for some in-between frames | Viewers flagged apparent glitches such as a six-fingered character; Cartoon Brew retracted its "hand-drawn" headline | 2026-11-10 | The problem was the gap between the "hand-illustrated" story and the visible artifacts |
Coca-Cola: the AI Christmas ad that keeps coming back
Coca-Cola's 2025 holiday campaign included two AI-driven reimaginings of its classic 1995 spot "The Holidays Are Coming": a :60 version and a "Fantastical" :90 version that aired only in the US. Coca-Cola says it worked with San Francisco studios Secret Level and Silverside AI, and that the music was "performed and sung by real artists." Pratik Thakar, Coca-Cola's head of generative AI, called the 2024 version "the world's first entirely GenAI-created film on broadcast media." Silverside AI says a core team of five worked with more than 20 other professionals on the 2025 film, its second year on the campaign.
Reception was split. BBC News reported that analytics company Social Sprout found a 61% "positive sentiment rating" among online commenters, while critics still called the work artificial. For 2026, Austrian trade site medianet reported on November 5, 2026 that Coca-Cola Austria is running last year's holiday spot again. As of November 10, 2026 we could not confirm from a Coca-Cola release whether any new 2026 holiday film is AI-made, so we don't claim it here.
McDonald's Netherlands: the AI Christmas ad that was pulled
McDonald's Netherlands released a 45-second Christmas ad made with generative AI clips on its YouTube channel on December 6, 2025, and removed it on December 9 after backlash, BBC News reported. The ad, made by Dutch agency TBWA\Neboko and US production company The Sweetshop, used the slogan "the most terrible time of the year." Viewers criticized the uncanny-looking characters and the large number of stitched-together clips. McDonald's Netherlands told the BBC the moment was "an important learning" as it explored "the effective use of AI." The Sweetshop's chief executive, quoted via Futurism, said the team spent "seven weeks" and made "thousands of takes."
Dior: accused of AI, says it is drawn by hand
Dior released "Christian Dior's Night in Colour," a six-minute animated holiday film directed by Sylvain Chomet with a voice cast that includes Robert Pattinson and Rihanna, on Wednesday, November 4, 2026. Dior said the film was fully hand-illustrated (The Business of Fashion, November 5). Within days, viewers posted frames with apparent glitches, including a character with six fingers, as evidence of AI. Cartoon Brew's editor apologized for calling the short hand-drawn in its first headline. Producer Aton Soumache told Variety the film took seven months, employed roughly 20 people including six animators, and used "an automated interpolation system for a very small part of the process," but no generative AI for the artwork.
Whether or not AI was used, the lesson for marketers is the same: if your campaign story is about craft, the frames have to survive frame-by-frame scrutiny.
Do AI-generated ads perform worse?
Not necessarily. In a study summarized by NYU Stern on November 6, 2025, researchers from NYU Stern and Emory University found that fully AI-generated visual ads raised click-through rates by up to 19% compared with ads made by human experts, while using AI only to modify human-made ads showed no significant improvement. The same study found that telling people an ad was made with generative AI cut click-through by 31.5%. The study looked at visual ads in general, not Christmas video films, so treat it as a signal rather than a rule.
The pattern matches the Christmas cases: audiences react to the ad they see and to the story the brand tells about it, not to the tool alone.
6 lessons for making an AI Christmas ad in 2026
1. Start from an idea people already love
Coca-Cola's AI versions lean on a 30-year-old concept, trucks and a jingle. A familiar idea gives viewers something to enjoy before they look for flaws. If you don't have a heritage asset, use a simple, warm premise rather than a complex story.
2. Keep shots short and few
Generative video clips tend to distort the longer they run; the BBC noted most are roughly six to 10 seconds, so even a 45-second ad means many stitched clips. Plan fewer, simpler shots and cut on action. Write the shot list first with a video script generator.
3. Put the real product on screen
Viewers forgive a stylized snowy world faster than a product that looks generated. Film or photograph the actual pack, dish or device and use AI around it.
4. Match the claim to the craft
Dior's problem was the gap between "hand-illustrated" and what people thought they saw. If AI helped, don't market the film as handmade. If it is handmade, check every frame for anything that looks like an AI artifact before release.
5. Check each platform's AI disclosure rules
Labels can cost clicks (the 31.5% figure above), but removing required labels is worse. On Meta, the updated Commercial Terms from November 20, 2026 forbid removing AI watermarks; see our guide to Meta's new AI ad terms.
6. Use AI where it is safest: copy, hooks and versions
The lowest-risk uses are the ones viewers don't see: headline and caption variants, first-second hooks, and resizing or localizing a finished ad for each market. Try the AI ad copy generator and the hook generator, then review every line before it goes live.
For the full December plan, with dates and shipping cutoffs, see our Christmas marketing ideas, and for the November push, our Black Friday ad ideas. Deepege, our product, helps brands that sell overseas make and localize ad videos and images; new users get free credits on sign-up.
FAQ
What was the AI Christmas ad that got pulled?
McDonald's Netherlands' 45-second AI-generated Christmas ad was released on December 6, 2025 and removed on December 9, 2025 after viewers called it creepy and poorly edited, BBC News reported.
Is Coca-Cola's Christmas ad made with AI?
Coca-Cola's 2024 and 2025 "Holidays Are Coming" films were AI-made with studios Secret Level and Silverside AI, according to Coca-Cola. In Austria, Coca-Cola is rerunning last year's spot in 2026, medianet reported. We could not confirm from Coca-Cola whether any new 2026 holiday film uses AI (checked November 10, 2026).
Did Dior use AI in its Christmas ad?
Dior's director Sylvain Chomet and producer Aton Soumache told Variety that "Night in Colour" was drawn by artists, with an automated interpolation tool used for some in-between frames and no generative AI for the artwork. Some viewers still dispute this, and it has not been independently confirmed either way.
Do AI-generated ads perform worse than human-made ads?
Not in one NYU Stern and Emory study: fully AI-generated visual ads got up to 19% higher click-through than ads made by human experts, but disclosing AI use cut click-through by 31.5%.
Should small businesses use AI for Christmas ads?
Yes for copy, hooks, storyboards and resizing; be careful with fully AI-generated people and products. Keep the real product on screen and follow each platform's labeling rules.
FAQ
What was the AI Christmas ad that got pulled?
McDonald's Netherlands' 45-second AI-generated Christmas ad was released on December 6, 2025 and removed on December 9, 2025 after viewers called it creepy and poorly edited, BBC News reported.
Is Coca-Cola's Christmas ad made with AI?
Coca-Cola's 2024 and 2025 "Holidays Are Coming" films were AI-made with studios Secret Level and Silverside AI, according to Coca-Cola. In Austria, Coca-Cola is rerunning last year's spot in 2026, medianet reported. We could not confirm from Coca-Cola whether any new 2026 holiday film uses AI (checked November 10, 2026).
Did Dior use AI in its Christmas ad?
Dior's director Sylvain Chomet and producer Aton Soumache told Variety that "Night in Colour" was drawn by artists, with an automated interpolation tool used for some in-between frames and no generative AI for the artwork. Some viewers still dispute this, and it has not been independently confirmed either way.
Do AI-generated ads perform worse than human-made ads?
Not in one NYU Stern and Emory study: fully AI-generated visual ads got up to 19% higher click-through than ads made by human experts, but disclosing AI use cut click-through by 31.5%.
Should small businesses use AI for Christmas ads?
Yes for copy, hooks, storyboards and resizing; be careful with fully AI-generated people and products. Keep the real product on screen and follow each platform's labeling rules.