Coca-Cola CEO on AI’s creative limits: 'We want to make ads with people in it'

James Quincey, chairman and CEO of The Coca‑Cola Company, said despite the advancements in AI, the technology has its limitations, especially when it comes to recreating realistic human resolution in advertising.

Speaking at the opening keynote of the Adobe Summit in Las Vegas, Quincey acknowledged the rapid advancements in AI but said it still falls short when rendering realistic human faces that audiences can connect with.

His comment followed the brand’s AI-powered Christmas commercial, which drew mixed reactions from consumers who noted the shortfalls of using AI in creativity. Quincey said while ads using generative AI are cheaper and quicker to make, the technology struggles with human resolution.

“We generally want to make ads with people in it,” he said.

“It's super interesting, because you can make a video with music and voice, and you can customise it endlessly, but it is not yet at the stage where it can make all our ads. Humans are incredibly effective at noticing AI that is not actually a human,” he said.

Quincey said Coca-Cola’s journey into AI had been early because of the fear of missing out - admitting that the scale of the company can sometimes slow down its ability to adapt.

“We've always been into AI in terms of the process and element and the massive marketing, as we've been able to personalise communication,” he said. However, when gen AI became big, Quincey said Coke had “no idea how to use it” but decided to jump on board it anyway.

“We said, look, that's where the world's going. Let's get on and let's understand because being big tends to make us slow,” he shared.

Looking ahead on the journey with AI, Quincey said ultimately, there will be a breakthrough stage where the human faces created by AI will be of the right resolution and marrying that with the ultimate unit cost of making an ad will see a huge wave of marketing revolution and creativity.

However, he also warned marketers not to fall into the trap of chasing consumers to constantly push for purchase as the cost of gen AI and creation of ads lower. At the end of the day, the more companies can chase consumers to buy and the more the number of annoyed consumers.

The balance between global and local

Even for a marketing giant such as Coca-Cola, balancing global and local campaigns remains a complex decision, but the overarching goal is always brand relevance.

For Coca-Cola, he said the global strategy is to unite the brand around people and happiness - but how that is executed looks different in each market.

“I would prioritise elements that are relevant around the world. Sharing a Coke with a meal, for example, is a universal idea but the food can be different and local,” Quincey said.

He added that relevancy and personalisation is even more important because customers want to be the protagonists of their own stories.

“Customers want to be the center of their own story,” he said. “We can enter into debate around how social media is putting people at the center of their own universes and the pros and cons of that, but that is also partly why customers want to be protagonists in their own story,” he said.

And this doesn’t just end at the confines of the digital world but also the physical.

Coca-Cola’s innovation strategy

When it comes to innovation, Quincey isn’t afraid to be the chief agitator or chief zombie killer, where he’s had to make the tough call to put many of The Coca-Cola Company’s sleepy brands to rest. He mentioned that the company currently has around 200 brands, and five years ago the number was around 400.

Innovation, he says comes in many shapes and sizes. Sometimes, it can just be for attention – such as the Oreo and Coke flavour profile. “Putting out a Coke and Oreo flavour – it was never going to last. But it brings back the attention to the brand,” he said.

He added that The Coca-Cola Company’s problem doesn’t lie in not having enough ideas but having “more ideas that are ever going to work,” he said. As such choosing the right path and battle to fight is paramount.