McDonald's has removed an AI-generated Christmas advertisement in the Netherlands following widespread criticism on social media. The ad, titled “the most terrible time of the year,” depicted scenes of festive chaos, including Santa stuck in traffic and a cyclist slipping in the snow, encouraging viewers to retreat to McDonald's until January.
The campaign sparked a flurry of negative comments online, with one user stating, “This commercial single-handedly ruined my Christmas spirit,” and another posting, “Good riddance to AI slop.” McDonald's Netherlands acknowledged the backlash in a statement on Wednesday, saying the ad was intended to show stressful holiday moments but that many guests view this period as “the most wonderful time of the year.”
Melanie Bridge, chief executive of Sweetshop Films, the production company behind the ad, defended the use of AI on LinkedIn, arguing it expands the creative toolbox and noting that the project involved ten people working full-time for five weeks. However, Emlyn Davies from Bomper Studio countered that a traditional live-action shoot would have employed far more people, including actors and a choir.
The controversy follows similar backlash against Coca-Cola's AI-generated holiday ad last year, though the company released a new AI ad this year featuring mostly animals to avoid human close-ups.
