Design News South Africa

Coca-Cola partners with creators to modernise holiday cards using AI

Coca-Cola is teaming up with top AI creators and specialists to showcase some of the company's most iconic and festive brand assets. The collaboration involves designing personalised digital holiday cards using cutting-edge AI technology.

The Create Real Magic AI Holiday Card Generator is one of the first platforms of its kind to combine the capabilities of GPT-4, which produces human-like text from search engine queries, and DALL-E, which produces images based on text. The tool invites creators to access Coca-Cola’s iconic, holiday-themed brand assets, creating connections across time zones and national boundaries through the power of AI.

Shareable cards

Consumers can experiment with the holiday-themed content to make their own shareable holiday cards on CreateRealMagic.com, including Coca-Cola’s cherished depictions of Santa Claus, created by Haddon Sundblom in 1931, and the company’s much-loved family of polar bears, first used by the company in 1993. By sharing these storied assets with consumers - and allowing them to be seen through the prism of new technology - they can be re-discovered by a younger generation.

Pratik Thakar, Coca-Cola’s global head of generative AI, said the company wanted to use this holiday season to create a positive space for people to express their creativity. The company is leaning into the potential of AI and demonstrating how it, combined with an iconic brand like Coke, can bring people together in the spirit of holiday magic.

“We, at Coca-Cola, are connecting the dots between culture, creativity and technology. The Create Real Magic platform invites consumers to use AI for crafting artwork using iconic creative elements from the Coca-Cola archives. #CreateRealMagic cards are a perfect way for us to celebrate people and the holidays using AI. We are humble but iconic, real yet magical and this latest campaign is a testament of the same.”

Entertain and inform

UK creative director Paul Parsons (@jed.ai.master) is just one of the creators to explore the capabilities of Create Real Magic. He says, “I’m all about using design to entertain and inform, and AI has opened up endless possibilities that allow me to do both. Having access to some of the most recognized holiday iconography and being able to put my own spin on it, with no limits, has been amazing. I can’t wait to share my take of the Coca-Cola holiday card.”

Coca-Cola will also feature some of the artwork on digital billboards throughout the world such as New York’s Times Square and London’s Piccadilly Circus. creators can download, share, copy and distribute their greetings cards as they wish.

This year’s global festive campaign comes to life in many forms and will be adapted by more than 80 markets worldwide. The unifying theme is the magic of kindness and the spirit of generosity and goodwill in us all. This narrative extends across all channels - from the TV ad, to physical experiences with the iconic Coca-Cola Christmas Caravan tour and local charitable partnerships, to digital initiatives like the 'Create Real Magic' AI Christmas Card generator and the ‘Find Your Inner Santa’ quiz, as well as two upcoming Christmas short films.

Let's do Biz