McDonald's has pulled a Christmas commercial produced via AI following receiving widespread criticism on social media.
The brief spot was produced using AI-generated video and was originally published on the YouTube channel for the Dutch branch of McDonald's on 6 December.
Audience Criticism and Removal
Following its publication, commenters lambasted the use of AI in the commercial. A number of described it as "disturbing" and "jarringly assembled".
"This experience serves as an valuable lesson as we explore the effective utilization of Artificial Intelligence," commented a representative from McDonald's Netherlands.
The advert was created for McDonald's by Dutch agency TBWA\Neboko and US production company The Sweetshop. It portrayed a series of situations that can go wrong during the festive season, under the tagline "the worst time of the year".
A Growing Movement of AI in Advertising
Campaigns that include AI tools have become a growing phenomenon among prominent companies, notably for the Christmas season.
- Coca-Cola has recently released back-to-back AI-generated holiday ads.
- Inherent Limitations: Because clips produced using generative AI are more likely to degrade the longer they run, most such clips tend to be roughly a few seconds in length.
- Broader Implications: The video also raised concerns about the replacement of human roles in the creative sector, with some observers pointing out it might affect work for actors.
Defense from the Production Company
After the commercial being pulled, The Sweetshop's CEO, Melanie Bridge, stood by the project.
According to her, the production process required "over a month and a half" and involved producing "countless iterations" which were then shaped afterward "just as we would on any standard production".
"This wasn't an AI gimmick," Bridge asserted. "We consider it a film."
Mixed Audience Sentiment
While the McDonald's commercial was mostly panned, the reception for other AI-assisted campaigns has been divisive.
For instance, a consecutive AI-generated holiday spot from another major brand according to analysis achieved a significant "favorable response" from the public.
However, other businesses have likewise received scrutiny for employing AI in advertising. Luxury brand Valentino, for example, was lambasted for advertisements that some described as "lazy" and "disturbing".
The episode highlights the ongoing conversation within the marketing and creative industries about the balance between AI efficiency and creative integrity.
