The global fast-food chain has removed a holiday advert created via AI after encountering considerable criticism on social media.
The 45-second ad was produced via AI video tools and was initially released on the YouTube channel for the Dutch branch of McDonald's on 6 December.
Viewer Criticism and Decision to Pull
Soon after it aired, viewers on social media denounced the employment of AI in the film. Many described it as "disturbing" and "jarringly assembled".
"This incident represents an key learning as we investigate the effective application of Artificial Intelligence," stated a spokesperson from the company.
The commercial was developed for McDonald's by Dutch company TBWA\Neboko and US production company The Sweetshop. It showed a series of situations that might go awry over the festive season, under the slogan "the most terrible time of the year".
A Growing Phenomenon of AI Commercials
Campaigns that include AI-created content have become a increasing phenomenon among prominent companies, especially for the holiday campaign season.
- Coca-Cola has similarly launched consecutive AI-generated Christmas commercials.
- Technical Challenges: Because segments produced using generative AI are more likely to become unstable the more extended they are, most such clips tend to be only a few seconds in length.
- Industry Concerns: The ad also sparked worries about the replacement of human roles in the production industry, with some critics pointing out it might affect opportunities for camera crews.
Response from the Production Company
After the commercial being pulled, a producer's chief executive, Melanie Bridge, stood by the advert.
Bridge claimed, the production process required "seven weeks" and involved generating "thousands of takes" which were then edited afterward "in the same way we would on any traditional production".
"This was not an AI gimmick," Bridge asserted. "We consider it a film."
Divisive Public Reception
While the McDonald's ad was mostly panned, the reception for some AI-assisted campaigns has been more mixed.
For instance, a recent AI-created holiday spot from Coca-Cola according to analysis achieved a significant "favorable response" from the public.
However, various brands have likewise received criticism for employing the technique in advertising. Italian brand Valentino, for example, was lambasted for ads that critics called "cheap" and "disturbing".
The incident underscores the continuing discussion within the advertising and creative industries about the trade-off between AI efficiency and human craftsmanship.
