McDonald's has removed a Christmas commercial produced with AI following receiving considerable criticism on social media.
The brief ad was created via AI video tools and was initially released on the YouTube channel for the Dutch branch of McDonald's on 6 December.
Viewer Response and Decision to Pull
Soon after it aired, audiences online criticized the employment of AI in the advert. Many described it as "uncanny" and "jarringly assembled".
"This moment is an valuable lesson as we investigate the appropriate application of generative technology," stated a spokesperson from the company.
The commercial was produced for McDonald's by Dutch company TBWA\Neboko and American production company The Sweetshop. It showed a series of things that can go wrong over the holidays, using the slogan "the most terrible time of the year".
A Growing Trend of AI in Advertising
Commercials that feature AI tools have emerged as a growing phenomenon among prominent brands, notably for the Christmas season.
- Coca-Cola has similarly launched back-to-back AI-created holiday commercials.
- Inherent Limitations: As clips made with current AI video tools are more likely to degrade the more extended they are, most such clips tend to be roughly short in length.
- Industry Concerns: The video also provoked fears about the replacement of human roles in the production sector, with some critics pointing out it might affect opportunities for actors.
Response from the Production Company
Following the video's removal, The Sweetshop's CEO, Melanie Bridge, defended the advert.
Bridge claimed, the development took "seven weeks" and involved producing "numerous versions" which were then shaped afterward "just as we would on any standard production".
"This was not an AI trick," she commented. "We consider it a finished piece."
Mixed Audience Sentiment
While the Dutch McDonald's commercial was mostly panned, the reception for other AI-generated holiday ads has been more mixed.
For instance, a consecutive AI-generated Christmas ad from Coca-Cola reportedly achieved a significant "positive sentiment rating" from online commenters.
However, various brands have also encountered backlash for employing AI in advertising. Italian brand Valentino, for example, was lambasted for advertisements that critics described as "cheap" and "uncanny".
The situation illustrates the evolving debate within the marketing and creative industries about the trade-off between technological innovation and creative integrity.
