McDonald's Netherlands Takes Down Artificial Intelligence Holiday Commercial Following Backlash.
McDonald's has pulled a Christmas advert produced using Artificial Intelligence following encountering widespread public disapproval.
The 45-second film was developed via generative AI clips and was first released publicly for McDonald's Netherlands back on 6 December.
Viewer Criticism and Decision to Pull
Following its publication, viewers on social media criticized the employment of AI in the commercial. A number of called it "disturbing" and "jarringly assembled".
"This incident represents an important learning as we explore the effective use of Artificial Intelligence," commented a statement from McDonald's Netherlands.
The commercial was produced for the brand by Dutch agency TBWA\Neboko and US production company The Sweetshop. It portrayed various situations that can go wrong over the festive season, using the theme "the most terrible time of the year".
The Trend of AI-Generated Ads
Commercials that feature generative AI have emerged as a growing trend among prominent companies, especially for the holiday period.
- Coca-Cola has recently released consecutive AI-created holiday ads.
- Technical Challenges: Since videos created with generative AI are prone to degrade the more extended they are, most AI video outputs tend to be roughly six to 10 seconds in length.
- Broader Implications: The video also provoked fears about the replacement of human roles in the creative industry, with some commenters pointing out it could affect opportunities for production staff.
Defense from the Production Company
Following the video's removal, The Sweetshop's CEO, Melanie Bridge, spoke in support of the project.
She stated, the creation took "seven weeks" and involved creating "thousands of takes" which were then crafted during the edit "just as we would on any standard production".
"This wasn't an AI gimmick," she commented. "We consider it a film."
Mixed Audience Sentiment
While the McDonald's commercial was predominantly criticized, the sentiment for other AI-generated campaigns has been divisive.
For instance, a consecutive AI-created holiday ad from another major brand reportedly garnered a significant "positive sentiment rating" from online commenters.
However, other businesses have also received criticism for using the technique in their campaigns. Luxury fashion house Valentino, for example, was criticized for advertisements that critics called "low-effort" and "uncanny".
The situation highlights the evolving conversation within the marketing and production industries about the trade-off between AI efficiency and human craftsmanship.
