For the last two holiday seasons, Coca-Cola’s Christmas ads have dominated marketing conversations — not for their creativity, but for their use of AI.

The 2024 remake of its classic Christmas Caravans ad was filled with AI-generated images and was widely criticized as cold and uncanny. This year’s version looked more polished, but the reaction still made one thing clear: even as the technology improves, many viewers aren’t sure how AI fits into storytelling.

That uncertainty hasn’t stopped brands from experimenting. Across industries, marketers are testing whether AI can enhance visuals, speed up production, unlock new aesthetics, or enable stories that traditional filmmaking can’t. Some efforts have sparked backlash, others have won awards, and many fall somewhere in between.

Below are some of the most notable AI-driven campaigns, ranging from parody to modular world-building, each offering a different perspective on how brands are navigating this evolving space.

11 Brands Making Video Ads With AI

1. Coca-Cola – "Holidays Are Coming"
2. Zevia – "Break From Artificial"
3. Body Armor – "Field of Fake"
4. Heinz – "A.I Ketchup"
5. Motorola – "Styled By Moto"
6. Starburst – "Different Every Time"
7. Nike – "Never Done Evolving"
8. Under Armor – "Forever Is Made Now"
9. Toys R Us – "The Origins of Toys R Us"
10. Virgin Voyages – "Jen AI"
11. Cadbury – “#NotJustCadburyAd 2.0”

Coca-Cola – "Holidays Are Coming"

For the last two holiday seasons, Coca-Cola’s Christmas advertisements have sparked full-blown debates about AI in storytelling. In 2024, the company remade its iconic “Holidays Are Coming” ad using AI, replacing human figures and real trucks with generated imagery.

Viewers were quick to complain. A New York Post report described the 2024 version as a “creepy dystopian nightmare”, with gliding truck wheels and odd human expressions.

In 2025, Coca-Cola doubled down, this time generating tens of thousands of clips to craft another “Holidays Are Coming” ad almost entirely via AI. Despite the ambition, critics were unforgiving: The Verge called it a “sloppy eyesore”, pointing out inconsistent animation.

Industry analysts noted that the technical scale (over 70,000 generated clips assembled in under a month) may have become a liability rather than a strength.

The visual overload created a sense of chaos, with objects bending unnaturally, lighting shifting shot-to-shot, and characters displaying telltale AI distortions.

Zevia – "Break From Artificial"

After the backlash against Coca-Cola’s 2024 holiday ad, Zevia responded with its own tongue-in-cheek holiday commercial titled “Break from Artificial.” The ad begins with uncanny AI imagery like Santa piloting a drone, misbehaving polar bears, and distorted people sipping soda. Then, it shifts to real people cracking open Zevia cans with the tagline “Break from Artificial”. This is both a critique of artificial ingredients and a critique of marketing that relies on AI.

Despite being a smaller, niche soda brand, Zevia’s campaign gained public praise, with many on social media claiming they were “switching from Coca-Cola to Zevia.”

While both Coca-Cola and Zevia employ AI tools in their marketing, Zevia’s campaign demonstrates a more intentional, reflective approach. Rather than using AI to replace video production, Zevia used it to comment on the technology’s limitations and amplify its own brand message.

Body Armor – "Field of Fake"

A very similar campaign is Body Armor's "Field of Fake". Launching during the Super Bowl, the ad opens on a bizarre, AI-generated football stadium, with distorted athletes running in slow motion. Halfway through, the visuals snap back to reality, showcasing real athletes like Joe Burrow and Alex Morgan, paired with the tagline “No Substitute for Real.”

Creators don’t need a Super Bowl budget to achieve a similar “real vs. artificial” effect. Using a reliable AI generator, you could easily prompt for surreal and uncanny sequences.

Pair these clips with real filmed footage to create a visual contrast like BodyArmor’s. You can also refine the visual tone by applying glitchy filters to your AI footage and warm, natural color grading to the real scenes.

Heinz – "A.I Ketchup"

For the “A.I. Ketchup” campaign, Heinz asked image generators like DALL·E 2 and Midjourney to create pictures of “ketchup.” The campaign includes a short video spot showing va (“Ketchup stained glass”, “Ketchup renaissance”), followed by outputs that all converged on the same unmistakable look: Heinz.

Heinz proved that its visual identity is so deeply embedded in culture that even artificial intelligence recognizes it as the ketchup.

Instead of treating generative systems as a threat to originality, Heinz uses them as evidence of its cultural imprint. If billions of images on the internet teach AI that “ketchup = Heinz,” then the brand’s dominance is algorithmically confirmed.

Motorola – "Styled By Moto"

To promote its Razr 50 lineup, Motorola partnered with creative agency Heaven to produce “Styled By Moto,” a fashion-forward campaign that positions the phone as both a tech device and a style accessory. The hero film features virtual models wearing outfits inspired by Motorola’s Batwing logo and the phone’s Pantone-curated colorway.

Behind the scenes, the team used an extensive suite of generative tools, including Adobe Firefly, Midjourney, and Luma, to generate thousands of images before animating, upscaling, and compositing them into a cohesive film. Even the soundtrack was reimagined through AI, with a modern, AI-remixed version of the iconic “Hello Moto” jingle.

Starburst – "Different Every Time"

Starburst’s “Different Every Time” campaign uses generative AI to bring the brand’s core motto: no two flavor combinations ever feel the same. The ad follows two characters who eat a Starburst and are instantly pulled into wild AI-generated worlds. What makes the campaign unique is its modular production.

The team built over 20 distinct AI worlds and more than 300 bespoke assets, which can be mixed, swapped, and reordered to generate countless variations of the ad.

That means viewers don't see the exact same video, and the experience changes based on placement, platform, and creative rotation.

“Different Every Time” earned multiple accolades, including recognition at the Clio Awards.

Nike – "Never Done Evolving"

Nike’s “Never Done Evolving” celebrates the brand's 50th anniversary and the retirement of Serena Williams. The ad reconstructs 130,000 full tennis match between two versions of Serena: her 1999 debut self and her 2017 champion self. The result is a film that feels simultaneously futuristic and emotional, celebrating her legacy without relying on traditional montage.

The spot’s visual style leans into minimal, hyper-modern motion graphics with glowing silhouettes, data-driven shot paths, and rhythmic point-by-point sequences that make the match feel almost balletic.

Instead of treating AI as a spectacle, Nike uses it as a narrative tool to highlight how Serena’s strategy, footwork, and power evolved over two decades.

Under Armor – "Forever Is Made Now"

Under Armour’s “Forever Is Made Now” campaign marks the renewal of its partnership with heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua, launching ahead of his fight versus Francis Ngannou. Faced with the challenge that Joshua was unavailable for a traditional shoot, Under Armour and creative studio Tool turned to generative AI and CG-enhanced footage. The film blends licensed archive footage with thousands of AI-generated images (over 5,256 created, with 52 selected for the final edit) and motion graphics.

Creators can apply the same logic using far simpler methods.

Start with whatever “real” material you already have (phone footage, stock clips) and prompt an AI Video Generator to create B-roll inserts that extend or exaggerate the moment.

Toys R Us – "The Origins of Toys R Us"

In mid-2024, Toys R Us unveiled “The Origin of Toys R Us,” a brand film created almost entirely through generative AI. Powered by OpenAI’s Sora, the ad visualizes the early life of founder Charles Lazarus and the moment that sparked the company’s creation.

The film portrays a young Charles dreaming up a magical toy store “where every kid could find exactly what they wanted,” and imagines his first encounter with Geoffrey the Giraffe, who appears as a kind of guide.

Creators can achieve a similar dreamlike effect using an image to video tool.

Start with a key image, and input a prompt on how to bring the image to life (for example, “animate this into a glowing dream world with drifting sparkles and gentle camera movement”). By repeating this with a few images and stitching the clips together, creators can build a cohesive sequence.

Virgin Voyages – "Jen AI"

Virgin Voyages partnered with Jennifer Lopez to launch “Jen AI,” a playful campaign built around an AI-powered version of the star. Travelers could generate personalized video invites from “JLo” to convince friends and family to join them on a Virgin Voyages trip. Users answered a few questions about what they were celebrating and who they were inviting, and the system created a custom video.

The video ad introducing this campaign opens with J.Lo lounging on a Virgin Voyages ship, until it reveals she’s actually a digital avatar being puppeted behind the scenes. This ad helped the campaign go viral, generating billions of impressions and thousands of personalized invites.

Creators can replicate this idea without needing celebrity likenesses by using an AI Persona. With a single photo or stylized character design, you can build your own on-screen persona that speaks, gestures, and delivers custom messages just like “Jen AI.”

Cadbury – “#NotJustCadburyAd 2.0”

Another good use of AI personas is Cadbury’s #NotJustCadburyAd 2.0, a campaign that used generative tools to bring personalized celebrity endorsements to thousands of small businesses. The campaign used AI facial mapping and voice modeling to generate custom videos featuring Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan. Local shop owners could enter their store name and details, and the system produced a version of the ad where Khan appeared to speak about their business.

Rather than releasing one national commercial, Cadbury effectively created tens of thousands of personalized micro-ads. For shop owners, it delivered a high-end promo featuring India’s biggest film star. For Cadbury, it reinforced the brand’s long-standing relationship with local retailers and positioned AI as a tool for empowerment rather than novelty.