The global fast-food chain has pulled a holiday commercial produced via AI after facing considerable public disapproval.
The brief ad was developed via generative AI clips and was originally uploaded online for the Dutch branch of McDonald's back on 6 December.
Social Media Criticism and Decision to Pull
Following its publication, commenters criticized the use of AI in the film. A number of called it "uncanny" and "poorly edited".
"This moment represents an key learning as we explore the appropriate utilization of Artificial Intelligence," said a statement from McDonald's Netherlands.
The commercial was developed for McDonald's by Dutch company TBWA\Neboko and US production company The Sweetshop. It showed various situations that often go badly over the festive season, with the slogan "not the most wonderful time of the year".
The Trend of AI in Advertising
Campaigns that include AI-created content have become a rising phenomenon among large corporations, notably for the Christmas campaign season.
- Coca-Cola has recently released back-to-back AI-created holiday ads.
- Technical Challenges: As segments produced with current AI video tools are more likely to become unstable the longer they run, the majority of AI video outputs tend to be roughly short in length.
- Broader Implications: The ad also sparked fears about job displacement in the production industry, with some observers stating it might negatively impact opportunities for production staff.
Response from the Production Company
Following the video's removal, a producer's CEO, Melanie Bridge, stood by the project.
According to her, the creation took "over a month and a half" and involved producing "countless iterations" which were then shaped afterward "just as we would on any traditional production".
"This wasn't an experiment," Bridge asserted. "It was a film."
Mixed Audience Sentiment
While the Dutch McDonald's commercial was mostly panned, the response for other AI-generated holiday ads has been varied.
For instance, a recent AI-created holiday spot from Coca-Cola according to analysis achieved a 61% "positive sentiment rating" from the public.
However, various brands have also received scrutiny for using AI in advertising. Italian fashion house Valentino, for example, was criticized for ads that some described as "lazy" and "uncanny".
The incident highlights the ongoing debate within the advertising and creative sectors about the trade-off between technological innovation and human craftsmanship.
