McDonald’s Pulls AI Christmas Ad After Online Backlash – BBC
McDonald’s Netherlands has removed a Christmas advert created with Artificial Intelligence (AI) after it faced criticism online, BBC reports. The 45-second video, released on 6 December, used generative AI clips and showed holiday mishaps, encouraging viewers to spend the season with McDonald’s.
Viewers on social media reacted negatively, calling the advert “creepy” and “poorly edited”, according to BBC. Some also raised concerns about job losses in filmmaking, noting the ad required no actors or camera crew. One Instagram comment said, “Welcome to the future of filmmaking. And it sucks.”
The advert was made by Dutch agency TBWA\Neboko and US production company The Sweetshop. BBC reports that McDonald’s Netherlands said the removal was an “important learning moment” as the company explored the effective use of AI in advertising.
Melanie Bridge, CEO of The Sweetshop, defended the production in an interview with Futurism. She explained that the team worked seven weeks with thousands of takes, editing them into a finished product, and stressed, “This wasn’t an AI trick. It was a film,” BBC notes.
AI-generated adverts are becoming more common, especially during the Christmas season, with brands like Coca-Cola also using AI in their campaigns. While McDonald’s ad received backlash, analytics company Social Sprout found it still had a 61% positive sentiment rating, BBC reports.
However, critics argue that using AI in advertising can seem cheap and lazy, pointing to other brands such as Valentino, which faced criticism for similar campaigns, BBC reports.
From a unique perspective, this episode shows that while AI can speed up content creation, it can also clash with audience expectations. BBC reporting highlights that even major brands risk backlash if AI-generated ads fail to feel authentic or engaging to viewers.
The McDonald’s case may serve as a cautionary tale for companies exploring AI, showing that technology alone cannot replace human creativity in connecting with audiences, BBC report.