Prada's hand-drawn holiday campaign is an utter joy – and a sharp lesson for Coca-Cola
(Image credit: Prada) Copy link Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter As a kid, it's natural to love Christmas. As an adult, it's natural to get stressed out by it. But I have to admit, even when I…
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(Image credit: Prada) Copy link Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter As a kid, it's natural to love Christmas. As an adult, it's natural to get stressed out by it. But I have to admit, even when I reached middle age, I was still a sucker for that "Holidays are coming" chorus from the Coke ads that herald the arrival of the festive season.Well, until a couple of years ago, anyhow.For the last two Christmases, unfortunately, the soft drinks giant has ruined it all for me by sticking AI-generated effects into its commercials. Not just that, but actively boasting about it. (If you were lucky enough to miss last year's monstrosity, our article Coca-Cola's AI ad just ruined Christmas... again allows you to relive it in all its gruesome glory.)Latest Videos FromCreative BloqWatch full video here: Prada Holiday 2026 | "Drawing Prada: Animated by Hand" - YouTube Watch On I mean, I can understand the shop down the road – the one that never seems to have any customers and is clearly operating on a shoestring – reaching for gen AI to save a few pennies. But a company valued at $400 billion? Do me a favour.So it's a real pleasure to see Prada heading in the right direction here. Drawing Prada, its holiday campaign for 2026, brings its celeb ambassadors (Sadie Sink, Maya Hawke, Chen Haoyu, Kelvin Harrison Jr and Luther Ford) into cartoon worlds drawn entirely by hand. (Image credit: Prada)A sardonic fox trails Maya through the snow; a goofy lynx peers out from behind a tree at Kelvin; and a trio of mice make off with Sadie's spotty loafers. It all feels very "classic Disney", and that's no coincidence.The animation was directed by John Pomeroy, who started out at Disney in the 1970s, co-founded the studio behind The Secret of NIMH with Don Bluth, and later returned to the House of Mouse for Pocahontas.Get the Creative Bloq NewsletterSign up to Creative Bloq's daily newsletter, which brings you the latest news and inspiration from the worlds of art, design and technology. (Image credit: Prada)Alongside him on the Prada campaign is lead animator Tom Bancroft, whose credits include Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King and Mulan. (Image credit: Prada)"What's great is that John called the band back together," Tom explains in Prada's behind-the-scenes reel. "He called a bunch of us that had been working at other studios for many years doing traditional hand drawn animation. It's great to be back and doing this for Prada." (Image credit: Prada)That experience and that enthusiasm show. Prada itself never mentions AI slop, but then it doesn't need to. This is the antidote, staring you in the face, and it's utterly delightful.A campaign that puts experienced animators back to work, and celebrates what they do, is certainly something I'd like to see a lot more of. If a fashion house can see the value in that, then surely the world's biggest soft drinks brand can too. Over to you, Coca-Cola. TOPICS Tom May Freelance journalist and editor Tom May is an award-winning journalist specialising in art, design, photography and technology. He is the author of the books The 50 Greatest Designers (Arcturus) and Great TED Talks: Creativity (Pavilion). Tom was previously editor of Professional Photography magazine, associate editor at Creative Bloq, and deputy editor at net magazine. View More You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. Logout LATEST ARTICLES 1 Ever wondered what goes on inside a pair of earphones? These transparent IEMs reveal all 2 They did it! Sennheiser HD 480 Pro are the best closed-back headphones I’ve heard (and it's not even close) 3 Joe & Mac Retro Collection (Switch 2) review: the '90s caveman roundup inherits its flaws as well as its fun 4 Will Instagram's 90-minute videos make it impossible to switch off from socials? 5 Coca-Cola gives everyday heroes the royal treatment in posh portrait campaign
