McDo AI Ad Labeled As "Cold" And "Emotionless"

The general consensus shows that it is not appealing and the public made sure that it gets cancelled. A recent McDonald’s Christmas advertisement entirely generated by AI has faced public backlash, leading to the video being delisted from YouTube.

Reportedly, the ad was created for the fast-food giant’s Netherlands division by the ad agency TBWA\Neboko and the production house The Sweetshop.

The 45-second spot revolved around the theme that the holiday season is the "most terrible time of the year."

It was labeled "cold" and emotionless by viewers who decried its low quality and the use of AI rather than human artists.

The advertisement was produced with the cynical idea that the holiday season is the "most terrible time of the year," thereby presenting McDonald's as a peaceful sanctuary free from seasonal chaos.

It depicts AI-generated individuals suffering through various common winter activities that go wrong, such as stressful family dinners, chaotic shopping, caroling, botched cookie baking, and disastrous Christmas tree decorating.

The commercial ends with saying: "Hide out in McDonald’s until January’s here."

Viewers criticized both the quality and the message of the advertisement.

The AI-generated McDonald’s ad was visually jarring with rapidly changing scenes that complicated the viewing experience.

Futurism reported that this technique is often used in AI video because the technology tends to lose visual continuity after only a few seconds.

The advertisement’s characteristic AI flaws created an unsettling "uncanny valley" effect, making the clip immediately become the source of viewer dissatisfaction.

The ad, posted earlier on YouTube, generated a modest 20,000 views.

It prompted a flood of negative comments, leading McDonald’s to first disable the comment section for the weekend and then completely remove the video.