Christmas. First, a celebration of Jesus’ birth is now the epitome of late-stage capitalism. Copious amounts of food, presents, and booze take centre-stage whilst Bibles rest unopened. Having lost its religious significance to many, a new set of secular values has been bestowed upon it – mainly family, love and goodwill, arguably the most positive aspects of Christmas. After all, the previously described abundance of Christmas is not feasible for everyone, whereas love reaches across economic divides and is free for all to give.
Presents can often be deeply impersonal, acting as a weaker substitute for the absence of genuine thought. While genuine connection cannot be covered in wrapping and ribbons (or indeed bought on Amazon), it’s the one thing that transcends social ruptures, binding humanity together. So 2025 is wrapping up, and we’ve got the Christmas trifecta of consumerism, love and religious belief. But, how does AI Santa come into it?
The capitalist takeover of Christmas can be traced back to Coca-Cola’s advertising campaigns from the 1930s. They took ‘Saint Nicholas’, rebranded him as jolly, red, and bearded, shoved a Coca-Cola bottle in his hand and took Christ out of the equation. This marked the beginning of the divisive OTT Christmas we all know and love – or hate, depending on who you ask. However, Coca-Cola has since adapted its marketing further to keep up with a string of new, shiny advertising strategies. How so? By introducing AI Santa, of course! Just like regular Santa, but (spoiler alert) even less real than before.
Coca-Cola recently released their annual Christmas advert, entirely made using AI for the second year running. Featuring creepy polar bears and uncanny valley penguins, they stare at Coca-Cola vans like they’re sacrosanct. Interestingly, the AI use is disclosed within the first 5 seconds of the ad. It’s euphemised with the phrase ‘created by real magic AI’ – a lovely use of juxtaposition to distract from the fact that there is absolutely nothing magical about the astronomical carbon emissions produced by AI data centres. Not only promoting the beverage, but also AI consumption. ‘Create real magic’ actually refers to their new generative AI tool that allows users to create and remix digital art using the brand’s image. Whatever you thought the ‘magic’ of Christmas was, think again – or ask Chat GPT, since neither elf nor human imagination matters any longer.
AI is inherently disingenuous (if one can ascribe human qualities to an unconscious entity) and can be compared to present-giving done wrong, both deeply impersonal at best and woefully lazy at worst. Whilst present-giving has the capacity to be a sincere token of affection, no matter what the actual present is, the use of AI is inherently inauthentic. Take Christmas cards. When people ask AI to write something nice for a loved one, the message loses all of its value. Equally, asking AI for “meaningful” present ideas is blatantly oxymoronic. One prompt at a time, we are allowing AI to drain any remaining sentimental value out of Christmas.
To make matters worse, as the general public becomes increasingly detached, swapping thinking for AI use, it transforms us further into Christmas capitalist propaganda-absorbing sponges. ‘The time for giving’ becomes more like ‘The time for buying’. It’s scary how normalised excessive consumption is, as when it’s for someone or something else, there’s a tendency to forget that we’re still consumers.
However, let the reciprocal expectation of gift-giving serve as a reality check that when you’re buying for others, you’re really just buying for yourself. I don’t mean to ruin the indulgent fun of Christmas; I just want it to be divorced from Capitalism. Christmas has religious value to some and secular value to others, both can, of course, coexist – and hopefully without capitalist ideals at the centre of both. Use your heart and use your brain, because AI lacks both and is ruining Christmas – the ultimate grinch!
Another article you may enjoy: https://thebadgeronline.com/2025/12/private-life-public-performance/
