McDonald's Netherlands Removes AI-Generated Holiday Commercial After Online Criticism.
McDonald's has pulled a holiday advertisement made via AI after facing considerable criticism on social media.
The 45-second spot was created using generative AI clips and was initially published online for McDonald's Netherlands on 6 December.
Audience Response and Decision to Pull
Shortly after its release, viewers on social media criticized the implementation of AI in the commercial. Several described it as "disturbing" and "jarringly assembled".
"This incident serves as an valuable learning as we explore the proper utilization of Artificial Intelligence," commented a spokesperson from the company.
The commercial was produced for the brand by Dutch agency TBWA\Neboko and American production company The Sweetshop. It showed a series of scenarios that can go wrong over the holidays, under the theme "the worst time of the year".
A Growing Trend of AI-Generated Ads
Campaigns that include AI tools have become a rising trend among large companies, particularly for the holiday period.
- Coca-Cola has also launched back-to-back AI-created Christmas commercials.
- Inherent Limitations: As clips created with generative AI are susceptible to distort the longer they run, the majority of AI video outputs tend to be about short in length.
- Broader Implications: The video also sparked concerns about job displacement in the production sector, with some observers pointing out it could negatively impact work for production staff.
Response from the Creators
Following the ad being taken down, a producer's CEO, Melanie Bridge, stood by the advert.
She stated, the creation required "over a month and a half" and involved generating "countless iterations" which were then edited afterward "in the same way we would on any traditional production".
"This wasn't an experiment," Bridge asserted. "The result was a finished piece."
Divisive Audience Sentiment
While the McDonald's commercial was predominantly panned, the sentiment for other AI-assisted holiday ads has been varied.
For instance, a recent AI-created holiday spot from another major brand reportedly received a 61% "positive sentiment rating" from online commenters.
However, other businesses have likewise encountered scrutiny for using the technique in marketing. Luxury brand Valentino, for example, was criticized for ads that critics called "cheap" and "uncanny".
The episode highlights the evolving conversation within the marketing and production industries about the trade-off between AI efficiency and creative integrity.
