A screenshot from the controversial, AI-generated McDonald’s ad
McDonald’s
McDonald’s has released an AI-generated Christmas ad, sparking online backlash, which grew fierce enough that McDonald’s turned off comments on YouTube, before setting the video to private.
However, the AI-generated ad can still be found online.
On X (Twitter), commentators celebrated the victory against the fast food giant, with some coming to the conclusion that “bullying works.”
McDonald’s follows in the footsteps of Coca-Cola and Toys“R”Us—both companies released AI-generated ads which were torn apart by online critics.
Unlike Coca-Cola’s recent ad, which largely features animals, the McDonald’s ad shows a speedy montage of AI-generated humans experiencing holiday disasters (AI struggles to generate consistent footage for a prolonged period of time, so the shots are incredibly brief).
Despite the undeniable progress made in the latest generation of AI-video models, the ad very much invokes the uncanny valley, highlighting the awkward limitations of the technology.
Movement in AI-generated video is ever-so-slightly “off,” and resembles the flow of a video played in reverse, while strong emotions such as anger and laughter are often outright horrific.
Subtlety is not one of the strengths of the machine.
What Happens In The AI-Generated McDonald’s Ad?
Critics often view generative AI as an aggressively anti-human technology, and oddly enough, the McDonald’s ad seems to emphasize this, framing Christmas as the “most terrible time of the year.”
The ad depicts a series of cartoonish calamities involving Christmas decorations and preparation for the holiday season, even depicting Santa Claus throwing a tantrum after being caught in traffic.
The tongue-in-cheek ad concludes that McDonald’s offers a peaceful haven during the chaotic holiday season, but with the inclusion of AI, the joke just didn’t land.
The Internet Hates McDonald’s AI-Generated Ad
Generative AI is viewed as a technology that erodes human connection, mocks the grieving process, and threatens the livelihood of workers across the creative industries and beyond.
Hence, viewers didn’t appreciate the message.
One poster wrote, “Even ignoring all the slop this ad is so cynical and unfun.”
In response to a particularly defensive AI-enthusiast, one commentator wrote, “It’s interesting to me how it’s not enough for these guys to quietly enjoy their slop. They’re always angrily demanding that you agree that it’s good.”
The ad, commissioned for McDonald’s Netherlands, was created through a partnership between the U.S. agency TBWA and production company The Sweetshop.
As the backlash intensified, The Sweetshop went on the defensive, releasing a since-deleted statement emphasizing the amount of work that was put into the ad, complaining about “seven weeks” of sleepless nights.
“We generated what felt like dailies – thousands of takes – then shaped them in the edit just as we would on any high-craft production. This wasn’t an AI trick. It was a film.”
The statement concludes with the claim, “AI didn’t make this film. We did.”
That final phrase was heavily mocked online, with critics either dismissing the claims of hard work, or questioning why an AI-generated product required so much polishing in the first place.
One AI-critic questioned the logic behind the entire production, writing:
“So the same people that promote AI as a time efficient tool still took weeks of ‘arduous work’ to make this, just for it to end up looking bad anyway? Seems like a waste of money to me.”
Of course, the phrase also inspired plenty of memes.
Like Coca-Cola, the McDonald’s brand is viewed as pure Americana—Donald Trump famously worked the McDonald’s drive-thru window and frying machine as a publicity stunt during his reelection campaign.
As we’ve seen previously, consumers can get surprisingly emotional about their preferred brands, and the deluge of AI-generated slop leaking through to advertising campaigns has consistently resulted in strong pushback.
Posts complaining about Coca-Cola’s Christmas ad are still going viral, and anti-AI sentiment shows no signs of abating.
Generative AI is often viewed as a cheap, easy shortcut to media creation, but when it comes to advertising, the backlash might not be worth the risk.
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