Secret Level’s ‘A Very AI Yule Log’ offers a genius twist on the holiday tradition

From Under Armour to Toys R Us to Coca-Cola, it’s been a year marked by plenty of anxiety over AI in advertising. So it’s nice, as the year wraps up, to see an AI holiday project that’s really entertaining—mostly because it doesn’t take AI too seriously.

Secret Level’s “A Very AI Yule Log” takes the tradition of yule logs and runs it through the generative AI grinder. The 90-minute video (the trailer is above; see the full video here) takes place in a wood cabin with a roaring fire—an image generated in Midjourney. Then, funny and surreal AI-generated videos are layered on top in 10-second increments, adding up to hundreds of short clips in all.

It’s fun to watch largely because it doesn’t try to hide AI’s excessive surreality or imperfections. Indeed, it revels in them. A bear riding a skateboard, a cat with two heads; a pair of manic dancing gingerbread men, lots of characters walking right through the furniture—it’s one weird little gift after another, and things quickly fall in a fun rhythm. (There are also elves, which feels like a nod to Secret Level founder Jason Zada having created Office Max’s “Elf Yourself” some 17 years ago.)

Also read: Coca-Cola’s AI holiday TV ads—creatives and consumers react to the spots

On top of the visuals, the music is also AI generated, created with Udio. Secret Level is releasing a whole album called “Christmas From the Void” on the streaming platforms, featuring the AI-generated tracks from “A Very AI Yule Log.”

The tone of the project is perfect, leaning into the truth about AI, which is that people currently find its output to be a mix of creepy and amusing. But calling the video a straight-up parody sells it short, too—not to overstate it, but there are some pretty sublime moments in here when the visuals and music combine in fairly mesmerizing ways (pretty impressive considering the entire video was made over just a few days during Thanksgiving break).

Also, if you played this on your TV at your holiday party, it would be a huge hit.

“We really wanted to lean into the imperfections of AI while having some fun during the holiday season,” said Zada. “Yule logs have always been a cozy holiday tradition, and this was a playful way to bring a virtual fireplace to life that can make everyone, from kids to adults, smile.”

Secret Level also made one of the Coke AI-generated holiday spots.

More Creativity coverage from Ad Age:

• See this week’s top 5 creative campaigns.
• Our picks for the 25 best ads of 2024.
• Everything brands did for Halloween this year.
• Browse our daily Creativity roundups.
• Director Lauren Greenfield on teens and toxic social media.
• The best ads of 2024 (so far).

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