McDonald's has removed a Christmas advert produced with AI following encountering considerable online backlash.
The short film was produced via AI-generated video and was originally released publicly for McDonald's Netherlands back on 6 December.
Viewer Criticism and Decision to Pull
Following its publication, audiences online lambasted the employment of AI in the film. Many labeled it "creepy" and "jarringly assembled".
"This moment is an important learning as we explore the effective use of Artificial Intelligence," commented a representative from McDonald's Netherlands.
The commercial was created for McDonald's by Netherlands-based agency TBWA\Neboko and American firm The Sweetshop. It depicted a series of scenarios that can go wrong during the holidays, using the tagline "the worst time of the year".
The Trend of AI Commercials
Campaigns that incorporate AI tools have become a growing phenomenon among major brands, especially for the holiday campaign season.
- Coca-Cola has also launched consecutive AI-created Christmas commercials.
- Technical Challenges: Because clips produced with current AI video tools are prone to become unstable the longer they run, most AI video outputs tend to be roughly short in length.
- Broader Implications: The video also raised worries about job displacement in the production sector, with some commenters pointing out it could affect work for production staff.
Response from the Creators
After the video's removal, The Sweetshop's CEO, Melanie Bridge, defended the project.
According to her, the development took "seven weeks" and involved generating "countless iterations" which were then shaped afterward "just as we would on any standard production".
"This wasn't an AI trick," Bridge asserted. "It was a film."
Divisive Audience Sentiment
While the Dutch McDonald's commercial was mostly panned, the response for some AI-assisted holiday ads has been more mixed.
For instance, a consecutive AI-generated Christmas spot from Coca-Cola according to analysis achieved a significant "positive feedback" from online commenters.
However, several companies have also encountered criticism for using the technique in their campaigns. Italian brand Valentino, for example, was criticized for ads that some called "cheap" and "disturbing".
The episode underscores the evolving conversation within the marketing and creative industries about the balance between technological innovation and audience reception.
