The Coca-Cola Company has elevated Pratik Thakar to the esteemed role of Global Head of Generative AI, marking a new chapter in its ambitious marketing transformation initiative. Thakar, who has been part of the beverage giant since 2013, announced his latest role in a recent statement.
Thakar enthusiastically shared, “I’m excited to start my new position as Global Head of Generative AI at The Coca-Cola Company’s Marketing Transformation Office.” This role is the culmination of a successful tenure at Coca-Cola, where he’s held multiple pivotal positions, including VP of APAC Creative and Content Excellence, Director of Integrated Marketing Communications for the ASEAN business unit, and Head of Global Creative Strategy and Content.
Before his influential journey at Coca-Cola, Thakar led the World Federation of Advertisers’ APAC division as the Chairman from 2020 to 2022. This was preceded by his stint as the Executive VP and Chief Strategy Officer of Grey Group’s Greater China sector.
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McCann Worldgroup, however, witnessed Thakar’s longest professional commitment, spanning over nine years from 2003 to 2012. There, he held various prominent roles such as Managing Director and Chief Strategy Officer in Kuala Lumpur, EVP and Chief Planning Officer in China, and Chief Strategist and Innovation Catalyst for the Greater China region. Thakar’s first exposure to a creative agency began at Saatchi & Saatchi Asia as Planning Director.
Coca-Cola’s commitment to AI-driven marketing transformation is clearly reflected in its recent initiatives. The company recently unveiled the “Create Real Magic” platform, employing the advanced capabilities of GPT-4 and DALL-E to generate human-like text and images, respectively. Fans from select countries could access and creatively experiment with dozens of Coca-Cola’s iconic branding elements, from the unique contour bottle to the famous Polar Bear.
Thakar highlighted that “Create Real Magic” signals Coca-Cola’s commitment to rapidly test, learn, and scale AI-powered ideas. “This initiative is an innovative experiment for co-creation, providing digital artists a unique opportunity to play in a custom-created sandbox, powered by GPT-4 and DALL-E,” Thakar noted.
This news is based on a report by Marketing Interactive.
