McDonald's has taken down a holiday advertisement produced with Artificial Intelligence following receiving considerable online backlash.
The 45-second film was created using AI video tools and was first published publicly for the Dutch branch of McDonald's back on 6 December.
Viewer Criticism and Decision to Pull
Shortly after its release, viewers on social media denounced the implementation of AI in the commercial. Several called it "creepy" and "jarringly assembled".
"This moment represents an important learning as we investigate the effective application of Artificial Intelligence," stated a statement from the company.
The advert was produced for McDonald's by Netherlands-based agency TBWA\Neboko and US production company The Sweetshop. It depicted a series of things that might go awry over the Christmas break, with the tagline "the most terrible time of the year".
The Trend of AI-Generated Ads
Campaigns that feature AI tools have become a growing phenomenon among major companies, especially for the Christmas period.
- Another beverage giant has recently launched consecutive AI-created holiday commercials.
- Technical Challenges: As clips made with generative AI are prone to become unstable the longer they run, the majority of such clips tend to be roughly short in length.
- Industry Concerns: The ad also raised fears about the replacement of human roles in the creative industry, with some observers pointing out it might affect opportunities for actors.
Defense from the Production Company
Following the commercial being pulled, a producer's head, Melanie Bridge, defended the project.
According to her, the development required "seven weeks" and involved generating "countless iterations" which were then edited afterward "in the same way we would on any high-craft production".
"This wasn't an AI trick," she said. "We consider it a finished piece."
Mixed Public Reception
While the Dutch McDonald's commercial was largely panned, the sentiment for some AI-assisted holiday ads has been more mixed.
For instance, a consecutive AI-generated Christmas ad from Coca-Cola reportedly achieved a 61% "positive sentiment rating" from online commenters.
However, other businesses have also received scrutiny for employing the technique in advertising. Italian fashion house Valentino, for example, was criticized for ads that some called "cheap" and "uncanny".
The situation underscores the ongoing conversation within the advertising and production sectors about the balance between new tools and human craftsmanship.
