McDonald’s AI Christmas Ad Sparks Controversy
Some advertisers are raising concerns over the issues people have encountered with AI-generated ads.
A recent McDonald’s Christmas commercial produced by Sweetshop Films was briefly available on YouTube, only to be taken down after four days, much like the fleeting holiday coals.
“The results aren’t worth the effort,” a comment echoed the sentiments surrounding the ad, which was entirely created using artificial intelligence for the Dutch market. Unfortunately, it didn’t receive a warm reception there.
Sweetshop Films initially described the ad as an attempt to highlight the stress often associated with the Christmas season in the Netherlands. They acknowledged, however, that many customers view this time as “the most wonderful time of the year,” based on public feedback and international media reports.
Melanie Bridge, the CEO of Sweetshop Films, defended their use of AI, stating, “It’s never about replacing craft. It’s about enhancing the creative toolbox.” She insisted that the essence of creativity—vision, flair, and leadership—remains fundamentally human.
Bridge also emphasized that her team invested a significant amount of time into the project, working more hours than a standard advertising crew. “People don’t see the depth of effort involved,” she explained. “This took ten full-time employees and five weeks.”
These claims did not resonate well as the holiday season approached.
On social media, reactions highlighted the partnership with an AI specialist company. One user noted that the Gardening Club put more effort into their video production than typical commercial teams, adding comments about pushing the limits of technology.
Yet another user criticized the end results, suggesting that AI, despite the extended efforts, still yielded poor quality: “So despite all that ‘effort,’ they produced the ugliest results. It just shows how useless gen AI is,” they remarked.
An art director named Haley expressed confusion over the notion of “pure human craft” being associated with AI-generated content. “What does that even mean? Is it just about clicking and generating until something acceptable comes out?” she questioned.
Another user compared AI work ethic to that of high school students who, despite their hard work, are shocked to learn that results matter more than effort in higher education.
Bridge mentioned that creating the McDonald’s AI ad was a laborious process, stating that she “barely slept” during the intense seven-week production. She referred to it as a “movie,” not just an AI trick, emphasizing the creativity involved.
Interestingly, Coca-Cola has taken a similar approach, claiming in a November ad that it reviewed 70,000 video clips within a month, which also faced backlash. As noted in many reactions, the sentiment around ad quality, regardless of the effort behind AI usage, remains a contentious topic.
