McDonald's Pulls AI-Generated Holiday Commercial In the Wake of Public Outcry.

The global fast-food chain has removed a Christmas commercial made with generative AI following receiving significant criticism on social media.

The 45-second film was created via AI video tools and was initially uploaded online for McDonald's Netherlands on 6 December.

Viewer Response and Removal

Soon after it aired, audiences online lambasted the implementation of AI in the film. Many called it "disturbing" and "jarringly assembled".

"This moment serves as an valuable lesson as we explore the appropriate application of Artificial Intelligence," stated a spokesperson from the company.

The advert was produced for the brand by Netherlands-based company TBWA\Neboko and American firm The Sweetshop. It depicted various scenarios that might go awry during the festive season, using the theme "the worst time of the year".

A Growing Trend of AI in Advertising

Commercials that include AI tools have become a increasing trend among major corporations, especially for the Christmas period.

• Coca-Cola has also released back-to-back AI-created holiday ads.
• Technical Challenges: As segments made with current AI video tools are more likely to degrade the longer they run, most such clips tend to be only six to 10 seconds in length.
• Industry Concerns: The video also provoked worries about the replacement of human roles in the production industry, with some critics pointing out it might negatively impact work for production staff.

Response from the Creators

After the ad being taken down, a producer's head, Melanie Bridge, spoke in support of the advert.

Bridge claimed, the creation took "seven weeks" and involved generating "numerous versions" which were then edited during the edit "just as we would on any standard production".

"This was not an AI gimmick," she said. "The result was a film."

Mixed Public Reception

While the McDonald's ad was largely criticized, the sentiment for some AI-assisted campaigns has been varied.

For instance, a recent AI-created Christmas ad from Coca-Cola according to analysis achieved a significant "positive sentiment rating" from the public.

However, various brands have also encountered backlash for employing the technique in their campaigns. Italian fashion house Valentino, for example, was lambasted for ads that some called "cheap" and "disturbing".

The episode underscores the evolving conversation within the advertising and production sectors about the trade-off between AI efficiency and human craftsmanship.