Snack maker Mondelez International is using a new generative AI tool to reduce the cost of producing marketing content by 30% to 50%. The packaged food manufacturer began developing the tool last year with ad company Publicis Groupe and IT firm Accenture. Mondelez expects the tool will be capable of producing short TV ads by next year’s holiday season and potentially for the 2027 Super Bowl, said Jon Halvorson, Mondelez’s global senior vice president of consumer experience.
The Cadbury chocolate producer has invested more than US$40 million in developing the technology, Halvorson said, noting that savings will likely increase as the system advances and is used to generate more complex video content.
Facing challenges such as tariffs and shrinking shopper budgets, Mondelez, like other major consumer goods companies, is turning to AI to reduce advertising agency costs and accelerate the process of developing and launching new products.
Rivals including Kraft Heinz and Coca-Cola have also tested AI for advertising. Coca-Cola ran AI-created holiday ads in 2024, though the computer-generated people in those ads drew criticism for lacking authentic emotion. Mondelez, by contrast, has avoided using human likenesses in its AI-generated material.
Currently, Mondelez is using content created by the new AI tool on social media for its Chips Ahoy cookies in the United States and Milka chocolate in Germany. An eight-second Milka video, for example, shows waves of chocolate rippling over a wafer, with the background changing based on the target consumer.
“The cost to do animations is in the hundreds of thousands. This type of setup is orders of magnitude smaller,” Halvorson said.
In the United States, Oreo will use the AI tool to enhance product pages on Amazon and Walmart in November. Mondelez also plans to implement the system for Lacta chocolate and Oreo in Brazil, and for Cadbury in the United Kingdom in the coming months, Halvorson added.
Tina Vaswani, Vice President of Digital Enablement and Data for Mondelez, emphasized that human oversight remains essential in reviewing all AI-generated content to prevent errors. The company has also implemented internal rules prohibiting content that promotes unhealthy eating habits, vaping, overconsumption, emotionally manipulative messaging, or offensive stereotypes, according to company documents.
Mondelez’s use of generative AI reflects a growing trend among global consumer brands to integrate automation into their marketing operations, seeking greater efficiency, lower costs, and faster content delivery across international markets.
