The global fast-food chain has taken down a Christmas advertisement made via AI following receiving widespread online backlash.
The short spot was produced with the help of AI-generated video and was first uploaded publicly for the Dutch branch of McDonald's back on 6 December.
Social Media Criticism and Decision to Pull
Soon after it aired, audiences online lambasted the employment of AI in the film. A number of called it "uncanny" and "awkwardly stitched together".
"This experience represents an important lesson as we investigate the appropriate use of Artificial Intelligence," stated a statement from McDonald's Netherlands.
The advert was created for McDonald's by Netherlands-based company TBWA\Neboko and American production company The Sweetshop. It showed a series of things that can go wrong over the festive season, with the tagline "not the most wonderful time of the year".
The Trend of AI in Advertising
Commercials that include AI tools have emerged as a rising phenomenon among large corporations, especially for the holiday period.
- Coca-Cola has similarly launched back-to-back AI-generated Christmas ads.
- Technical Challenges: Since clips produced with current AI video tools are prone to degrade the more extended they are, most AI video outputs tend to be roughly short in length.
- Broader Implications: The video also raised concerns about job displacement in the creative sector, with some critics noting it could affect work for production staff.
Defense from the Production Company
After the ad being taken down, a producer's CEO, Melanie Bridge, stood by the advert.
Bridge claimed, the creation took "seven weeks" and involved producing "countless iterations" which were then shaped in post-production "just as we would on any standard production".
"This wasn't just an experiment," she commented. "We consider it a proper commercial."
Divisive Public Reception
While the Dutch McDonald's ad was predominantly criticized, the response for other AI-generated campaigns has been varied.
For instance, a recent AI-generated Christmas ad from Coca-Cola reportedly garnered a 61% "positive feedback" from viewers.
However, various brands have likewise encountered criticism for using AI in marketing. Italian fashion house Valentino, for example, was lambasted for advertisements that critics described as "cheap" and "uncanny".
The episode highlights the evolving conversation within the advertising and creative industries about the trade-off between AI efficiency and human craftsmanship.
