McDonald’s AI Christmas ad trashed by holiday lovers, but is it really that terrible?
McDonald’s was forced to pull its Christmas ad despite taking “seven sleepless weeks” to create it.
The fast-food giant has pulled its latest Christmas ad amid backlash, as some users called the commercial “disgusting,” “ugly,” and a waste of time.
Alongside the overuse of AI, social media users are saying that the message behind the McDonald's commercial is truly horrible.
The 45-second ad is riddled with obvious AI attributes, which gives the commercial, which is meant to mock the joy of Christmas, a creepy tone.
“It’s the most terrible time of the year,” a group of AI-generated carolers sing while the McDonald’s golden arches glow in the background.
The song that echoes throughout the entire commercial is a play on the popular Christmas tune “It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” by Andy Williams.
The advert shows an array of Christmas fails, like AI-generated people falling while ice skating, a person struggling uphill with a Christmas tree, and Santa caught in traffic.
McDonald’s message essentially says: Christmas sucks, come eat at McDonald’s and hide out until the festive period is over.
The ad only received 20,000 views on YouTube before it was taken down, Futurism reports.
Before the ad was delisted from YouTube, comments were disabled, presumably due to the amount of backlash the commercial received.
The Sweetshop’s CEO, the creators behind the ad, responded, saying that the team had spent seven sleepless weeks trying to make McDonald’s vision come to life.
Melanie Bridge, CEO of The Sweetshop, takes full ownership of the commercial, saying that “AI didn’t make the McDonald’s Christmas ad. We did.”
McDonald’s isn’t the only major company to use AI to advertise its products this Christmas period.
Coca-Cola released yet another round of AI-generated holiday commercials featuring its iconic truck caravan heading into town, ironically promising to bring “real magic.”
The new ads don’t differ much from last year’s “uncanny” and “soulless” commercials, but the truck’s wheels now actually turn instead of gliding on the ice, and AI-generated humans are gone – except for Santa’s hands opening a bottle of Coke.
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