McDonald’s removes controversial AI Christmas commercial from YouTube

McDonald’s Netherlands has removed a Christmas commercial created with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) from the video platform for the public, which was published on YouTube on December 6th. Many users criticized the commercial as too cynical. The use of AI in production also did not go down well with the audience.

The approximately 45-second commercial from McDonald’s Netherlands exaggeratedly shows what can go wrong in the pre-Christmas period and describes the Christmas season as the “most terrible time of the year.” McDonald’s contrasts the AI-generated mishaps in the Christmas setting, including accidents during Christmas decorating and problems transporting masses of Christmas presents, with the supposedly cozy atmosphere of its restaurants – true to the motto: Come to us if you want to spend a peaceful Christmas.

Creepy characters and poorly edited

However, many viewers did not react well to this. They criticized the contemptuous treatment of Christmas and, in addition, that the advertisement was created with a series of AI clips lasting between six and ten seconds. The characters in it were described as “creepy” and the commercial as a whole as “poorly edited.” Furthermore, AI productions would make actors and actresses unemployed.

The production company The Sweetshop, hired by the Dutch advertising agency TBWA\Neboko to produce the commercial, defended the production, as Futurism writes. The production took seven weeks, employees slept little during that time, and thousands of takes were created, “which were then edited in the same way as any other high-quality production.” It is “not an AI trick,” but “a film,” according to Melanie Bridge, CEO of The Sweetshop, cited by Futurism.

Due to the criticism of the commercial, McDonald’s Netherlands decided to set the commercial to “private” three days after its release on YouTube and hide it from the public. In a statement to BBC News, McDonald’s Netherlands explained that the video was intended to reflect the stressful moments that can occur during the Christmas season. However, as McDonald’s noted, Christmas is not “the most terrible time of the year” for many people, but rather “the most wonderful time of the year.” Therefore, the clip was withdrawn.

The criticism of producing advertisements with the help of AI seems to have at least been heard by McDonald’s Netherlands: “This moment serves as an important learning experience as we explore the effective use of AI,” said the fast-food chain. However, this does not sound like a renunciation of AI in its commercials, likely also because advertising can be produced faster and more cheaply with it.

(olb)