McDonald's has pulled a Christmas advert made with Artificial Intelligence following facing widespread public disapproval.
The short spot was created with the help of AI video tools and was first published publicly for the Dutch branch of McDonald's back on 6 December.
Audience Response and Decision to Pull
Shortly after its release, viewers on social media lambasted the implementation of AI in the advert. Several described it as "disturbing" and "jarringly assembled".
"This moment is an important lesson as we explore the proper use of AI," stated a representative from McDonald's Netherlands.
The advert was developed for the brand by Dutch company TBWA\Neboko and American production company The Sweetshop. It showed a series of situations that often go badly during the festive season, using the slogan "not the most wonderful time of the year".
The Movement of AI in Advertising
Commercials that incorporate AI-created content have emerged as a growing trend among major companies, especially for the Christmas period.
- Coca-Cola has similarly launched back-to-back AI-created Christmas commercials.
- Inherent Limitations: Since videos created using current AI video tools are prone to distort the longer they run, most such clips tend to be roughly six to 10 seconds in length.
- Industry Concerns: The ad also raised worries about the replacement of human roles in the production sector, with some commenters stating it could negatively impact opportunities for production staff.
Defense from the Creators
Following the ad being taken down, a producer's head, Melanie Bridge, stood by the project.
Bridge claimed, the creation required "over a month and a half" and involved producing "thousands of takes" which were then edited during the edit "in the same way we would on any high-craft production".
"This was not an experiment," Bridge asserted. "It was a film."
Divisive Public Reception
While the McDonald's ad was mostly panned, the response for some AI-generated holiday ads has been varied.
For instance, a consecutive AI-generated holiday ad from Coca-Cola according to analysis received a 61% "favorable response" from the public.
However, various brands have also faced backlash for using the technique in marketing. Luxury brand Valentino, for example, was lambasted for ads that some called "low-effort" and "uncanny".
The situation underscores the continuing debate within the advertising and production industries about the trade-off between new tools and audience reception.
