McDonald’s AI-Generated Christmas Ad Fails to Resonate
▼ Summary
– A now-removed AI-generated ad for McDonald’s Netherlands suggested the fast-food chain as a place to hide from stressful holiday activities.
– The ad depicted AI-generated people experiencing various winter mishaps and was criticized online for its quality, message, and use of AI.
– Unlike a recent Coca-Cola AI ad, the McDonald’s spot featured human-like figures, which sometimes appeared flawed with unnatural movements.
– The ad’s creators stated it required an intense seven-week production with more human effort than a traditional shoot.
– Executives involved confirmed the project demanded extensive, full-time work from a team to coax the AI models to meet the creative vision.
The holiday season is often portrayed as a time of joy, but a recent marketing effort from McDonald’s Netherlands took a decidedly different approach. An AI-generated advertisement, which has since been removed from the company’s official YouTube channel, framed the festive period as “the most terrible time of the year.” The short film depicted a series of AI-created characters experiencing various winter misfortunes, from disastrous family dinners to failed cookie-baking attempts. Its concluding message suggested viewers should simply “hide out in McDonald’s until January’s here.” This unconventional tactic has sparked significant criticism online, with many questioning both the artistic quality and the underlying sentiment of the campaign.
Public reaction on social media platforms where the ad was reposted has been overwhelmingly negative. Commenters have expressed distaste not only for the use of artificial intelligence in production but also for the advertisement’s core message and its technical execution. The backlash mirrors the mixed reception received by other brands, like Coca-Cola, for their own AI-driven holiday promotions. However, McDonald’s campaign notably ventured into riskier territory by attempting to generate realistic human figures rather than sticking with animated characters. This choice highlighted the persistent challenges of AI video generation, with noticeable flaws such as unnaturally contorting limbs and inconsistent character appearances throughout the scenes.
Despite these criticisms, the creative team behind the advertisement has emphasized the substantial human effort involved. The AI division of The Sweetshop, the studio that produced the film, stated on LinkedIn that the project required “seven intense weeks” to complete. They revealed that “the man-hours poured into this film were more than a traditional production,” a point echoed by the company’s CEO. In a separate Instagram post, Melanie Bridge detailed the extensive labor, noting that a team of ten people worked full-time for five weeks, investing what she described as “blood, sweat, tears, and an honestly ridiculous amount of coaxing” to guide the AI models to fulfill the creative vision. This disclosure underscores a common paradox in early AI-assisted content creation: achieving a specific, polished result can sometimes demand more resources, not fewer, than conventional methods.
The episode serves as a notable case study in the evolving intersection of marketing and generative AI. While the technology offers new avenues for creativity and concept exploration, this campaign demonstrates that audience reception remains unpredictable and highly sensitive to both technical quality and thematic tone. The decision to frame the holidays as a stressful ordeal to be avoided, rather than a celebration to be enjoyed, appears to have missed the mark with many viewers. As brands continue to experiment with AI-generated content, finding the right balance between innovative technique and resonant messaging will be crucial. The removal of the ad suggests that even global giants like McDonald’s are navigating a learning curve, testing what resonates in this new digital landscape and quickly pivoting when a concept fails to connect.
(Source: The Verge)
