The global fast-food chain has pulled a holiday advert created via AI following facing significant public disapproval.
The brief film was created with the help of AI video tools and was initially published online for the Dutch branch of McDonald's on 6 December.
Audience Response and Removal
Following its publication, audiences online criticized the employment of AI in the film. A number of called it "disturbing" and "poorly edited".
"This incident is an valuable lesson as we investigate the appropriate use of AI," commented a representative from the company.
The advert was created for the brand by Netherlands-based company TBWA\Neboko and American production company The Sweetshop. It showed various things that can go wrong over the holidays, using the tagline "the worst time of the year".
A Growing Phenomenon of AI in Advertising
Campaigns that incorporate AI-created content have become a growing phenomenon among major corporations, particularly for the holiday period.
- Another beverage giant has similarly launched back-to-back AI-generated Christmas commercials.
- Inherent Limitations: Because videos made using generative AI are susceptible to degrade the more extended they are, the majority of such clips tend to be only a few seconds in length.
- Industry Concerns: The ad also raised worries about the replacement of human roles in the production industry, with some critics pointing out it could affect work for actors.
Defense from the Production Company
Following the ad being taken down, The Sweetshop's chief executive, Melanie Bridge, spoke in support of the project.
According to her, the development took "over a month and a half" and involved generating "numerous versions" which were then shaped afterward "in the same way we would on any high-craft production".
"This was not an AI trick," Bridge asserted. "We consider it a film."
Mixed Public Reception
While the McDonald's commercial was largely criticized, the sentiment for some AI-assisted holiday ads has been varied.
For instance, a consecutive AI-created Christmas ad from Coca-Cola according to analysis received a significant "favorable response" from the public.
However, various brands have also faced criticism for employing the technique in their campaigns. Italian brand Valentino, for example, was lambasted for advertisements that critics described as "cheap" and "uncanny".
The episode illustrates the ongoing conversation within the advertising and production sectors about the trade-off between new tools and audience reception.
