The Fast-Food Giant Pulls AI-Created Holiday Commercial Following Backlash.

McDonald's has pulled a Christmas advertisement produced with AI after receiving considerable criticism on social media.

The short spot was produced with the help of AI-generated video and was initially published online for McDonald's Netherlands on 6 December.

Viewer Response and Decision to Pull

Soon after it aired, audiences online lambasted the implementation of AI in the advert. Several labeled it "uncanny" and "awkwardly stitched together".

"This experience serves as an important learning as we explore the effective utilization of Artificial Intelligence," stated a representative from McDonald's Netherlands.

The advert was developed for McDonald's by Netherlands-based agency TBWA\Neboko and American production company The Sweetshop. It showed various things that might go awry during the festive season, under the tagline "the worst time of the year".

A Growing Trend of AI in Advertising

Commercials that incorporate AI-created content have emerged as a rising trend among major corporations, especially for the Christmas campaign season.

• Coca-Cola has also released consecutive AI-generated holiday commercials.
• Technical Challenges: Since clips made with generative AI are prone to degrade the more extended they are, the majority of AI video outputs tend to be only a few seconds in length.
• Broader Implications: The ad also sparked fears about automation in the advertising industry, with some observers pointing out it might affect work for camera crews.

Response from the Production Company

Following the ad being taken down, The Sweetshop's CEO, Melanie Bridge, spoke in support of the advert.

She stated, the creation took "seven weeks" and involved producing "thousands of takes" which were then edited during the edit "just as we would on any standard production".

"This was not an AI gimmick," Bridge asserted. "We consider it a film."

Mixed Audience Sentiment

While the Dutch McDonald's commercial was predominantly criticized, the reception for some AI-assisted holiday ads has been more mixed.

For instance, a recent AI-generated Christmas ad from another major brand according to analysis garnered a 61% "positive sentiment rating" from the public.

However, other businesses have also faced criticism for employing the technique in their campaigns. Luxury brand Valentino, for example, was lambasted for advertisements that some described as "lazy" and "uncanny".

The situation underscores the evolving discussion within the advertising and creative sectors about the balance between technological innovation and human craftsmanship.