The global fast-food chain has pulled a Christmas advertisement created with Artificial Intelligence following encountering significant criticism on social media.
The brief film was created with the help of AI-generated video and was originally released publicly for the Dutch branch of McDonald's on 6 December.
Audience Criticism and Decision to Pull
Soon after it aired, audiences online lambasted the employment of AI in the advert. A number of called it "uncanny" and "poorly edited".
"This moment represents an valuable learning as we investigate the proper use of AI," said a statement from McDonald's Netherlands.
The advert was developed for McDonald's by Netherlands-based company TBWA\Neboko and US production company The Sweetshop. It portrayed various things that often go badly over the Christmas break, under the tagline "not the most wonderful time of the year".
A Growing Trend of AI Commercials
Adverts that feature AI-created content have emerged as a increasing trend among large brands, particularly for the holiday campaign season.
- Another beverage giant has similarly launched back-to-back AI-generated holiday commercials.
- Inherent Limitations: Because segments produced using generative AI are more likely to degrade the longer they run, the majority of AI video outputs tend to be about short in length.
- Broader Implications: The ad also provoked concerns about automation in the creative industry, with some commenters stating it could reduce work for camera crews.
Response from the Production Company
Following the commercial being pulled, The Sweetshop's head, Melanie Bridge, defended the advert.
According to her, the production process took "over a month and a half" and involved producing "countless iterations" which were then crafted during the edit "in the same way we would on any standard production".
"This wasn't just an AI trick," Bridge asserted. "It was a finished piece."
Mixed Audience Sentiment
While the Dutch McDonald's ad was mostly criticized, the sentiment for other AI-generated holiday ads has been varied.
For instance, a recent AI-created Christmas spot from Coca-Cola reportedly received a 61% "positive sentiment rating" from the public.
However, other businesses have likewise encountered criticism for using the technique in their campaigns. Luxury fashion house Valentino, for example, was lambasted for advertisements that some called "cheap" and "disturbing".
The episode underscores the evolving debate within the marketing and production industries about the trade-off between new tools and human craftsmanship.
