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A McDonald’s holiday advertisement created with artificial intelligence has sparked widespread criticism for its negative portrayal of the festive season, leading to its removal from YouTube. The spot, produced for McDonald’s Netherlands, depicts a series of holiday mishaps befalling AI-generated characters, from chaotic family gatherings and shopping frenzies to failed attempts at caroling, cookie baking and tree trimming.
The 30-second video features a twist on a familiar holiday tune, reimagining it as the most dreadful time of the year before urging viewers to escape the stress by seeking refuge at McDonald’s until the new year arrives. First highlighted by Futurism, the ad quickly drew online ire after clips circulated on social media platforms, where users lambasted its reliance on AI, poor visual execution and overall downbeat tone.
Backlash echoes the recent uproar over Coca-Cola’s AI-crafted Christmas commercial, though the McDonald’s version stands out for incorporating human-like figures rather than animated animals. Viewers noted awkward moments, such as a skater’s limbs morphing unnaturally mid-fall, underscoring the challenges of AI in rendering realistic motion.
The production, handled by The Gardening Club, the AI arm of creative studio The Sweetshop, demanded significant effort despite the technology’s promises of efficiency. A LinkedIn update from the team described seven grueling weeks of work, surpassing the labor of conventional shoots. The Sweetshop’s CEO, Melanie Bridge, echoed this in an Instagram post, detailing how a team of 10 dedicated five full weeks, investing immense energy to refine the AI elements and align them with the script’s vision.
As brands experiment with generative AI to cut costs and innovate, such efforts continue to provoke debates on creativity, authenticity and audience reception in advertising.
