Since 1989, Hershey has run the same commercial featuring Kisses as bells playing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” every holiday season. Even after a few remasters and updates, the commercial is functionally identical and gives lots of people warm fuzzies, which marketing people know translates to sales. Coca-Cola is taking a slightly different approach for the second year in a row: throw a similarly beloved old commercial into an automated plagiarism machine and spend a ton of money fixing some (but not all) of the errors that it spits out.
Yes, despite the widespread disgust last year’s commercial earned, Coca-Cola is doubling down on their decision to use AI in lieu of real artists. Bah humbug. Anyway, Coke sent over a couple cans of their new Creamy Holiday Vanilla flavor. Here’s hoping it gets the taste of their awful marketing decisions out of my mouth.
Pros: Every time I’ve posted about this soda, the comments have been full of disbelief that this will be any different from the existing Vanilla Coca-Cola, but there is something distinctly different and holiday-y about the spice mixture. The vanilla is sweet and creamy as described, which actually results in the loss of some of that classic Coke “bite.” I didn’t particularly like or dislike that change, but my Pepsi-preferring girlfriend considered it a great improvement.
Cons: I can’t put my finger on what sets this seasonal soda apart from regular Vanilla Coke. To be clear, it is different, I just struggle to find the words to describe exactly how. (An easy description does not guarantee a positive review—remember cookie-flavored Sprite?)
Pros: Coke’s zero sugar innovations are always impressively close to the full sugar and this is no different. “Creamy” is not a word that feels positive for any cola, but both versions are indeed delivering a creamy vanilla finish.
Cons: That said, “impressively close” is not identical. Coca-Cola may have the best track record for making convincing zero sugar versions, but this still has that distinct fake-sugar taste that turns off a large number of people —including me.
Griffin Parker is a writer, "influencer", and generally very-busy person based in Columbus, Ohio. He's sacrificed countless hours in the pursuit of ranking Lindt Lindor truffles, HI-CHEW candies, and more. When he's not writing for Sporked or running @SodaSeekers, you can find Griffin espousing the virtues of Dayton-style pizza, Cincinnati-style chili, and Dolly Parton's Fabulously Double Fudge Brownie Mix.
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