McDonald's has taken down a holiday advertisement created via AI following facing significant criticism on social media.
The 45-second film was produced with the help of AI video tools and was first uploaded publicly for the Dutch branch of McDonald's on 6 December.
Social Media Criticism and Removal
Shortly after its release, commenters criticized the use of AI in the advert. A number of called it "disturbing" and "poorly edited".
"This moment is an valuable lesson as we explore the proper application of Artificial Intelligence," stated a spokesperson from McDonald's Netherlands.
The commercial was created for McDonald's by Netherlands-based agency TBWA\Neboko and American firm The Sweetshop. It showed various scenarios that can go wrong during the festive season, with the theme "the most terrible time of the year".
The Trend of AI-Generated Ads
Campaigns that incorporate generative AI have become a increasing phenomenon among major companies, especially for the holiday period.
- Coca-Cola has similarly launched back-to-back AI-created Christmas ads.
- Technical Challenges: As clips produced with generative AI are more likely to become unstable the more extended they are, most such clips tend to be roughly short in length.
- Industry Concerns: The ad also sparked fears about job displacement in the production sector, with some observers pointing out it could reduce opportunities for production staff.
Response from the Production Company
After the ad being taken down, The Sweetshop's CEO, Melanie Bridge, defended the advert.
According to her, the development took "over a month and a half" and involved generating "numerous versions" which were then edited during the edit "in the same way we would on any high-craft production".
"This was not an experiment," she said. "It was a finished piece."
Mixed Public Reception
While the McDonald's commercial was predominantly panned, the sentiment for other AI-assisted campaigns has been divisive.
For instance, a consecutive AI-created Christmas spot from Coca-Cola according to analysis received a significant "positive feedback" from online commenters.
However, other businesses have also received criticism for employing the technique in marketing. Luxury fashion house Valentino, for example, was lambasted for advertisements that critics called "low-effort" and "disturbing".
The episode underscores the ongoing conversation within the marketing and production industries about the trade-off between AI efficiency and human craftsmanship.
