The global fast-food chain has taken down a Christmas advertisement made using AI after facing considerable criticism on social media.
The 45-second spot was produced using AI video tools and was initially released on the YouTube channel for the Dutch branch of McDonald's on 6 December.
Viewer Reaction and Decision to Pull
Following its publication, audiences online lambasted the employment of AI in the film. Many described it as "creepy" and "awkwardly stitched together".
"This experience is an important lesson as we explore the proper application of Artificial Intelligence," said a representative from McDonald's Netherlands.
The commercial was produced for McDonald's by Netherlands-based agency TBWA\Neboko and US firm The Sweetshop. It depicted various scenarios that might go awry over the holidays, using the tagline "the most terrible time of the year".
A Growing Movement of AI-Generated Ads
Campaigns that feature generative AI have become a growing trend among major companies, notably for the holiday season.
- Another beverage giant has similarly launched back-to-back AI-created holiday commercials.
- Technical Challenges: As videos produced using current AI video tools are prone to distort the longer they run, the majority of such clips tend to be only short in length.
- Industry Concerns: The ad also sparked worries about the replacement of human roles in the production sector, with some observers noting it could negatively impact opportunities for production staff.
Defense from the Creators
After the video's removal, a producer's CEO, Melanie Bridge, defended the advert.
Bridge claimed, the creation required "over a month and a half" and involved generating "thousands of takes" which were then crafted in post-production "in the same way we would on any standard production".
"This was not an experiment," she commented. "It was a film."
Mixed Public Reception
While the McDonald's commercial was mostly panned, the response for other AI-assisted holiday ads has been more mixed.
For instance, a recent AI-created holiday ad from Coca-Cola according to analysis received a 61% "positive feedback" from online commenters.
However, other businesses have likewise received criticism for using the technique in their campaigns. Italian brand Valentino, for example, was lambasted for ads that some described as "lazy" and "disturbing".
The incident highlights the ongoing conversation within the marketing and creative sectors about the trade-off between AI efficiency and creative integrity.
