A McDonald’s Christmas advertisement has been removed from YouTube after it was described by fans as being ‘offensive from every angle’.
This comes after people noticed that the new festive commercial was actually generated by artificial intelligence.
The ad took the lyrics from the popular Christmas song ‘It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year’ and switched up the words, singing ‘it’s the most terrible time of the year’, as the AI-generated clip showed people encountered various obstacles in the lead up to Christmas.
This has caused a stir online with many people taking to social media to share their own reactions to the video.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, some expressed positive thoughts with one user writing: “McDonald’s just dropped a new AI ad and it’s beautiful and I am genuinely tired of people pretending this is not the future of media.
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“If this played on your TV during a normal commercial break, you would be disingenuous to say ‘its slop’ or ‘I could easily tell it is AI’. It is a fantastic ad on its own merits, and it is obvious that AI video will eventually be one to one with reality, where you truly cannot tell the difference. if your of average intelligence and can extrapolate of course.
“When we get there, then what? Is it still ‘slop’, or does ‘slop’ permeate as a label for anything made with AI, even when you cannot tell at all?”
However, not everyone was a fan, with one person saying: “It’s not even so much that the AI was bad as the entire tone of the ad was stupid and insensitive so the slop on top just made it offensive from every angle. People LIKE Christmas duh.”
A third user commented: “What is the point of making something when you’re not really making it? The process is enjoyable. Cameras, lighting, performance etc. I don’t see what this does for the process. What is stimulating or enjoyable about creating this?”
And a fourth added: “It just wasn’t good enough to pass the uncanny valley. At a time when anti AI visual art sentiment is at an all time high, it’s gotta be good enough or shelved for the sake of brand.”
Since backlash from customers, the ad campaign appears to have been scrapped as the video has since been set to private on YouTube.
In a statement to UNILAD Tech, a spokesperson for McDonald’s Netherlands said: “McDonald’s Netherlands has decided to remove our AI-generated Christmas advert. It was intended to reflect the stressful moments that can occur during the holidays in the Netherlands, but we recognize that for many of our guests, the season is “the most wonderful time of the year”. We respect that and remain committed to creating experiences that offer Good Times and Good Food for everyone.”