McDonald's has removed a Christmas advert created using artificial intelligence (AI) following an online backlash.
The 45-second commercial was created using generative artificial intelligence videos and published on December 6 on the McDonald's Netherlands YouTube channel.
Viewers on social media condemned the use of artificial intelligence in the film, with one commentator calling it “the worst ad I've seen this year”.
McDonald's Netherlands removed the video on December 9, adding in a statement to BBC News that the moment served as an “important lesson” as the company explored the “effective use of artificial intelligence.”
Advertising was created for McDonald's by the Dutch company TBWA\Neboko and the American production company The Sweetshop.
Advertising incorporating generative artificial intelligence has become a growing trend among major brands such as Coca-Cola, especially during the Christmas season.
The McDonald's advert depicted things that could go wrong during the Christmas holidays, used the slogan “the worst time of the year” and suggested spending time with the fast food giant.
Upon the film's release, viewers criticized the film's supernatural-looking characters and the large number of clips stitched together, calling it “nasty” and “poorly edited.”
Because clips created using generative AI are more likely to become distorted the longer they run (most clips created using this process typically last around six to 10 seconds), even a 45-second ad will likely consist of many videos edited together.
The video also raised concerns about job losses in the industry. one comment on Instagram noting, “No actors, no camera crew… welcome to the future of filmmaking. And it sucks.”
After the video was made private on McDonald's Netherlands YouTube channel, The Sweetshop CEO Melanie Bridge defended the ad.
How quoted in FuturismShe said the production process took “seven weeks” during which the crew “barely slept” and created “thousands of takes and then processed them in editing the same way we do in any high-end production.”
“This was not an AI trick,” she said. “It was a movie.”
In a statement to BBC News, a McDonald's Netherlands spokesperson said the video was intended to “reflect the stressful moments that can occur during the holidays” but decided to remove the advert.
“This moment will serve as an important lesson as we explore the effective use of AI,” it said.
While a major Christmas campaign could typically take up to a year to complete, companies have begun looking to firms that can produce films in a much shorter period of time, using insights from generative artificial intelligence tools to create new video content.
Coca-Cola appears to have managed to convince at least some of the general public with its second consecutive AI-generated Christmas ad.
While the use of artificial intelligence to create advertising has been controversial, a report from analytics firm Social Sprout found he had a 61% “positive sentiment rating” from commentators online.
But a few other enterprises such as Italian luxury fashion house Valentino have been criticized for using the technique in their campaigns, with critics calling Valentino's advertising “cheap” and “lazy”.
BBC News has contacted The Sweetshop and TBWA\Neboko for comment.
