The global fast-food chain has taken down a holiday advertisement created with generative AI after facing widespread criticism on social media.
The brief film was developed with the help of AI-generated video and was initially released publicly for the Dutch branch of McDonald's on 6 December.
Viewer Criticism and Removal
Soon after it aired, viewers on social media denounced the implementation of AI in the advert. Many called it "creepy" and "awkwardly stitched together".
"This moment serves as an important learning as we investigate the effective application of AI," said a representative from McDonald's Netherlands.
The advert was produced for McDonald's by Netherlands-based company TBWA\Neboko and US firm The Sweetshop. It depicted a series of situations that can go wrong over the festive season, using the theme "the worst time of the year".
The Trend of AI in Advertising
Campaigns that incorporate generative AI have emerged as a increasing trend among large companies, especially for the holiday season.
- Coca-Cola has also released consecutive AI-generated Christmas ads.
- Technical Challenges: Because videos made using generative AI are susceptible to degrade the more extended they are, most AI video outputs tend to be about a few seconds in length.
- Industry Concerns: The video also raised concerns about job displacement in the production industry, with some observers pointing out it could negatively impact work for production staff.
Defense from the Creators
Following the commercial being pulled, a producer's chief executive, Melanie Bridge, defended the project.
She stated, the production process took "over a month and a half" and involved generating "countless iterations" which were then edited in post-production "just as we would on any standard production".
"This was not an AI gimmick," Bridge asserted. "It was a finished piece."
Divisive Audience Sentiment
While the McDonald's commercial was predominantly criticized, the response for other AI-assisted campaigns has been varied.
For instance, a recent AI-created holiday spot from Coca-Cola reportedly achieved a 61% "positive sentiment rating" from viewers.
However, several companies have also faced backlash for employing the technique in their campaigns. Italian brand Valentino, for example, was criticized for ads that critics described as "low-effort" and "uncanny".
The episode illustrates the continuing conversation within the advertising and creative sectors about the balance between AI efficiency and human craftsmanship.
