McDonald's has taken down a Christmas commercial produced via generative AI after facing considerable criticism on social media.
The brief ad was created via generative AI clips and was initially published publicly for the Dutch branch of McDonald's back on 6 December.
Viewer Criticism and Decision to Pull
Following its publication, commenters lambasted the employment of AI in the advert. Many labeled it "creepy" and "poorly edited".
"This moment represents an important lesson as we examine the proper utilization of Artificial Intelligence," stated a statement from the company.
The advert was produced for McDonald's by Netherlands-based agency TBWA\Neboko and American firm The Sweetshop. It depicted various things that often go badly over the festive season, using the theme "not the most wonderful time of the year".
A Growing Trend of AI-Generated Ads
Campaigns that include AI tools have become a rising phenomenon among prominent companies, especially for the holiday campaign season.
- Another beverage giant has also released back-to-back AI-generated Christmas ads.
- Technical Challenges: Since clips created using current AI video tools are susceptible to become unstable the more extended they are, most AI video outputs tend to be roughly a few seconds in length.
- Industry Concerns: The ad also provoked fears about the replacement of human roles in the production industry, with some commenters stating it could negatively impact work for production staff.
Defense from the Creators
After the commercial being pulled, The Sweetshop's head, Melanie Bridge, stood by the advert.
She stated, the development took "seven weeks" and involved generating "thousands of takes" which were then edited in post-production "in the same way we would on any standard production".
"This wasn't an experiment," she commented. "We consider it a film."
Divisive Public Reception
While the Dutch McDonald's commercial was mostly panned, the sentiment for some AI-assisted campaigns has been more mixed.
For instance, a recent AI-created Christmas ad from Coca-Cola according to analysis achieved a 61% "positive sentiment rating" from online commenters.
However, various brands have also encountered criticism for using AI in advertising. Luxury brand Valentino, for example, was criticized for advertisements that critics called "lazy" and "uncanny".
The incident illustrates the continuing discussion within the advertising and creative industries about the trade-off between technological innovation and creative integrity.
