McDonald's has taken down a holiday commercial produced using AI after facing considerable online backlash.
The short ad was created via generative AI clips and was originally published publicly for McDonald's Netherlands back on 6 December.
Viewer Criticism and Removal
Shortly after its release, commenters criticized the use of AI in the commercial. Many labeled it "uncanny" and "poorly edited".
"This moment is an important lesson as we examine the proper utilization of Artificial Intelligence," said a representative from McDonald's Netherlands.
The advert was produced for McDonald's by Dutch agency TBWA\Neboko and US firm The Sweetshop. It showed various situations that can go wrong during the Christmas break, under the tagline "not the most wonderful time of the year".
The Phenomenon of AI Commercials
Commercials that include AI-created content have emerged as a increasing phenomenon among major companies, particularly for the Christmas campaign season.
- Another beverage giant has similarly released back-to-back AI-created holiday commercials.
- Inherent Limitations: As clips made using current AI video tools are prone to degrade the longer they run, most AI video outputs tend to be roughly short in length.
- Industry Concerns: The video also sparked concerns about the replacement of human roles in the advertising sector, with some commenters noting it might negatively impact work for camera crews.
Defense from the Creators
Following the commercial being pulled, The Sweetshop's head, Melanie Bridge, spoke in support of the advert.
Bridge claimed, the creation took "seven weeks" and involved generating "countless iterations" which were then shaped in post-production "in the same way we would on any standard production".
"This wasn't just an AI trick," she said. "We consider it a film."
Mixed Public Reception
While the McDonald's ad was mostly panned, the sentiment for some AI-assisted holiday ads has been varied.
For instance, a consecutive AI-generated holiday ad from Coca-Cola according to analysis garnered a significant "positive sentiment rating" from online commenters.
However, various brands have also received criticism for employing AI in their campaigns. Luxury brand Valentino, for example, was criticized for advertisements that some described as "low-effort" and "disturbing".
The episode underscores the continuing debate within the marketing and production industries about the trade-off between new tools and human craftsmanship.
