McDonald's has taken down a holiday advertisement made using AI following encountering considerable online backlash.
The brief ad was produced via generative AI clips and was first uploaded publicly for the Dutch branch of McDonald's back on 6 December.
Viewer Response and Removal
Soon after it aired, commenters criticized the implementation of AI in the film. A number of described it as "uncanny" and "poorly edited".
"This moment serves as an important lesson as we examine the proper utilization of AI," commented a statement from McDonald's Netherlands.
The commercial was developed for McDonald's by Netherlands-based agency TBWA\Neboko and US production company The Sweetshop. It showed a series of scenarios that might go awry over the festive season, with the tagline "the worst time of the year".
A Growing Phenomenon of AI in Advertising
Campaigns that feature generative AI have emerged as a growing trend among prominent companies, notably for the holiday campaign season.
- Coca-Cola has similarly launched back-to-back AI-created holiday commercials.
- Technical Challenges: Because segments produced using generative AI are more likely to degrade the longer they run, most such clips tend to be only a few seconds in length.
- Broader Implications: The ad also provoked concerns about job displacement in the production industry, with some commenters pointing out it could reduce opportunities for camera crews.
Response from the Production Company
Following the video's removal, The Sweetshop's CEO, Melanie Bridge, stood by the project.
She stated, the development required "over a month and a half" and involved creating "countless iterations" which were then crafted in post-production "in the same way we would on any traditional production".
"This wasn't an AI trick," she commented. "It was a film."
Mixed Public Reception
While the Dutch McDonald's commercial was predominantly criticized, the response for other AI-assisted campaigns has been more mixed.
For instance, a consecutive AI-generated holiday ad from Coca-Cola reportedly achieved a significant "positive feedback" from the public.
However, other businesses have likewise received backlash for using AI in marketing. Italian fashion house Valentino, for example, was criticized for advertisements that some described as "cheap" and "uncanny".
The episode highlights the evolving discussion within the marketing and production sectors about the balance between AI efficiency and creative integrity.
