The global fast-food chain has pulled a Christmas advert produced with AI following encountering widespread online backlash.
The 45-second spot was developed via AI-generated video and was originally published online for the Dutch branch of McDonald's on 6 December.
Audience Response and Decision to Pull
Soon after it aired, commenters denounced the implementation of AI in the commercial. Several labeled it "disturbing" and "jarringly assembled".
"This moment serves as an key lesson as we investigate the appropriate utilization of generative technology," said a representative from McDonald's Netherlands.
The commercial was produced for the brand by Dutch company TBWA\Neboko and US firm The Sweetshop. It portrayed a series of situations that often go badly over the festive season, under the slogan "the most terrible time of the year".
The Movement of AI in Advertising
Commercials that incorporate generative AI have emerged as a rising trend among large corporations, notably for the Christmas campaign season.
- Coca-Cola has also released back-to-back AI-generated holiday commercials.
- Inherent Limitations: As videos created using generative AI are prone to distort the longer they run, the majority of AI video outputs tend to be roughly a few seconds in length.
- Industry Concerns: The video also raised worries about job displacement in the production industry, with some commenters stating it might negatively impact work for camera crews.
Response from the Production Company
After the ad being taken down, a producer's CEO, Melanie Bridge, stood by the project.
According to her, the creation took "seven weeks" and involved creating "thousands of takes" which were then edited afterward "in the same way we would on any standard production".
"This was not an AI gimmick," Bridge asserted. "We consider it a film."
Mixed Public Reception
While the Dutch McDonald's ad was predominantly panned, the response for other AI-generated holiday ads has been more mixed.
For instance, a recent AI-generated Christmas spot from Coca-Cola reportedly achieved a significant "positive feedback" from viewers.
However, various brands have also faced criticism for employing AI in marketing. Luxury fashion house Valentino, for example, was lambasted for advertisements that some described as "low-effort" and "disturbing".
The incident highlights the ongoing conversation within the advertising and production industries about the trade-off between new tools and audience reception.
