Photo Credit:Netherlands advert [McDonalds]
McDonald's announced on Wednesday it had removed an AI-generated Christmas advert in the Netherlands after it was widely criticized online. Titled the most terrible time of the year, the advert humorously depicted festive chaos, showing Santa stuck in traffic and a present-laden Dutch cyclist slipping in the snow, with the message to escape the season by retreating to a McDonald's until January. But the generative AI ad sparked a Mc flurry of criticism on social media. This commercial single-handedly ruined my Christmas spirit, said one user. Good riddance to AI slop, posted another.
McDonald's Netherlands said in a statement: The Christmas commercial was intended to show the stressful moments during the holidays in the Netherlands. However, we notice -- based on the social comments and international media coverage -- that for many guests this period is the most wonderful time of the year. Melanie Bridge, chief executive of The Sweetshop Films, which made the ad, defended its use of artificial intelligence in a post on LinkedIn. It's never about replacing craft, it's about expanding the toolbox. The vision, the taste, the leadership... that will always be human, she said. And here's the part people don't see: the hours that went into this job far exceeded a traditional shoot. Ten people, five weeks, full-time, added Bridge.
But this too sparked online debate. Emlyn Davies, from independent production company Bomper Studio, replied to the LinkedIn post: What about the humans who would have been in it, the actors, the choir Ten people on a project like this is a tiny amount compared to shooting it traditionally in live action.
Following its release, viewers criticised the film's uncanny-looking characters and large number of stitched together clips, calling it creepy and poorly edited. As clips made using generative AI are more likely to distort the longer they run for - most clips made using the process tend to be roughly six to 10 seconds long - even a 45-second advert would likely consist of many videos edited together. The video also provoked concerns for job displacement in the industry, with one Instagram comment noting: No actors, no camera team..welcome to the future of filmmaking. And it sucks.”