McDonald's Removes AI-Generated Christmas Ad Following Backlash.

McDonald's has pulled a holiday advert made with AI after facing significant online backlash.

The 45-second ad was created using generative AI clips and was originally released online for the Dutch branch of McDonald's on 6 December.

Audience Criticism and Decision to Pull

Shortly after its release, audiences online criticized the use of AI in the commercial. Many called it "disturbing" and "jarringly assembled".

"This incident is an key learning as we investigate the appropriate application of generative technology," stated a statement from McDonald's Netherlands.

The advert was created for the brand by Netherlands-based company TBWA\Neboko and American production company The Sweetshop. It showed a series of situations that can go wrong during the festive season, with the theme "not the most wonderful time of the year".

A Growing Phenomenon of AI-Generated Ads

Campaigns that incorporate generative AI have emerged as a rising phenomenon among prominent brands, particularly for the holiday campaign season.

• Coca-Cola has similarly released back-to-back AI-generated holiday commercials.
• Inherent Limitations: Because clips created using generative AI are prone to degrade the longer they run, most such clips tend to be roughly a few seconds in length.
• Industry Concerns: The video also raised concerns about automation in the production industry, with some critics noting it could affect work for camera crews.

Defense from the Creators

After the video's removal, a producer's head, Melanie Bridge, spoke in support of the advert.

Bridge claimed, the development required "over a month and a half" and involved generating "thousands of takes" which were then shaped during the edit "just as we would on any high-craft production".

"This wasn't just an experiment," she said. "The result was a proper commercial."

Mixed Audience Sentiment

While the McDonald's commercial was largely criticized, the sentiment for other AI-assisted holiday ads has been more mixed.

For instance, a consecutive AI-created Christmas ad from another major brand according to analysis achieved a significant "positive feedback" from the public.

However, various brands have likewise faced criticism for using AI in advertising. Italian brand Valentino, for example, was criticized for ads that some described as "lazy" and "uncanny".

The situation underscores the ongoing discussion within the advertising and production industries about the trade-off between new tools and creative integrity.