McDonald's Pulls AI-Generated Holiday Commercial After Public Outcry.

The global fast-food chain has taken down a holiday commercial produced using generative AI after encountering widespread criticism on social media.

The 45-second ad was created using AI-generated video and was originally published online for McDonald's Netherlands back on 6 December.

Audience Reaction and Decision to Pull

Shortly after its release, viewers on social media lambasted the use of AI in the advert. Several called it "disturbing" and "jarringly assembled".

"This moment represents an valuable lesson as we explore the appropriate use of generative technology," stated a spokesperson from McDonald's Netherlands.

The commercial was created for the brand by Netherlands-based company TBWA\Neboko and American firm The Sweetshop. It showed a series of situations that often go badly during the Christmas break, using the slogan "the worst time of the year".

A Growing Trend of AI in Advertising

Campaigns that include AI tools have emerged as a growing trend among major corporations, especially for the Christmas period.

• Coca-Cola has also released consecutive AI-created holiday commercials.
• Technical Challenges: Since videos created with generative AI are susceptible to become unstable the more extended they are, most AI video outputs tend to be only six to 10 seconds in length.
• Industry Concerns: The video also provoked fears about the replacement of human roles in the production sector, with some critics noting it could reduce work for production staff.

Response from the Production Company

After the ad being taken down, a producer's CEO, Melanie Bridge, spoke in support of the project.

Bridge claimed, the creation took "seven weeks" and involved producing "countless iterations" which were then edited during the edit "in the same way we would on any traditional production".

"This wasn't an AI trick," she commented. "The result was a proper commercial."

Mixed Public Reception

While the Dutch McDonald's ad was mostly criticized, the response for some AI-generated holiday ads has been more mixed.

For instance, a consecutive AI-created holiday ad from another major brand reportedly garnered a significant "favorable response" from online commenters.

However, other businesses have also received scrutiny for using the technique in advertising. Italian brand Valentino, for example, was lambasted for ads that critics described as "cheap" and "disturbing".

The episode illustrates the evolving debate within the marketing and production industries about the balance between AI efficiency and audience reception.