AI at the Top – Coca-Cola’s Bold Bet on Artificial Intelligence

Coca-Cola has positioned itself as one of the most aggressive early adopters of AI among global consumer brands. Its highly publicized AI-generated “Holidays are Coming” ad sparked debate in 2024—some saw it as the end of human creativity, while others celebrated the future of storytelling.

Despite mixed reactions, Coca-Cola doubled down on AI, releasing an improved version of the commercial in 2025. The behind-the-scenes video revealed a striking detail:
👉 A small team of just five specialists refined over 70,000 AI-generated video clips to create the final advertisement.
This showcases not just creativity, but the operational scalability and process efficiency that AI unlocks.

Why Coca-Cola Matters in the AI Conversation

Coca-Cola is one of Forbes’ Top 50 AI Early-Adopting Companies, and it treats AI as a strategic asset rather than a novelty. To consumers, AI appears only through impressive ads. But behind the scenes, Coca-Cola uses AI across multiple business layers—something enterprise leaders can learn from.

How Coca-Cola Applies AI Across Its Operations

Although the newsletter segment you shared ends right as these sections begin, Joerg’s key themes are clear. Coca-Cola uses AI in:

1. Marketing with AI

• AI-driven creative production (e.g., massive-scale video generation)

• Hyper-personalized digital campaigns

• Rapid A/B testing and creative optimization
  Coca-Cola’s marketing teams now behave more like AI-powered content studios, producing at a scale previously impossible.

2. Enterprise Operations (Implied Themes from Joerg’s Deep-Dive Series)

Even though your extract stops before listing all categories, Coca-Cola’s AI adoption typically includes:

• Supply chain forecasting (inventory, demand prediction)

• Route optimization for distribution networks

• Automated quality control in bottling operations

• AI-assisted product innovation (flavor R&D, packaging design)

• Data-driven retail activation (store-level insights, promotions)

The message: Coca-Cola is not just using AI for ads—it is modernizing the entire enterprise.

Key Takeaways

• Coca-Cola has become a global case study in end-to-end AI transformation.

• Its creative advertising showcases AI’s potential, but the real impact lies in internal operations.

• AI allows small expert teams to achieve output levels once available only to large production studios.

• The company’s optimism and willingness to experiment give it a competitive edge in the new era of intelligent workflows.

• Enterprise leaders should study Coca-Cola not as a beverage company, but as an AI-enabled ecosystem.