McDonald's sparks debate with AI-generated Christmas advert

McDonald’s has sparked significant debate after releasing a Christmas advert made entirely by artificial intelligence.

The advert was created for McDonald’s Netherlands by Amsterdam-based agency TBWA\NEBOKO and poked fun at those who say Christmas is the best time of year by flipping it on its head to sing, “It's the most terrible time of the year”. The ad showed scenes of things going wrong at Christmas, like shops turning to “mayhem” and someone getting stuck in the tram doors while holding an armful of gifts.

On Instagram, the agency explained: “December is often presented as perfect, while the reality is usually far more chaotic. That truth shaped our new AI-driven campaign for [McDonald’s Netherlands]l, turning It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year into the most terrible time of the year."

They explained that the ad used “AI specialists” from video production service company The Gardening.club and comedic directors to create something that used the “surreal possibilities of AI”.

“The result is McDonald’s first fully fledged AI commercial, a humorous look at the month we all love and secretly dread,” they said.

The ad has certainly sparked debate online as the news was shared on X/Twitter. Meanwhile, the comments on their own YouTube video have been disabled.

Melanie Bridge, CEO of The Gardening.club, wrote, “for seven weeks, we hardly slept” and suggested, “AI didn’t make this film. We did”. On their Instagram, the company said: “Let’s set the record straight: the man-hours poured into this film were more than a traditional Production.”

Online, people have had a lot to say.

“Pretty good case for AI not actually being a time saver when generally applied if something like this still involved weeks long crunching to create,” someone pointed out.

Another said: “Wow this looks like f**king s**t.”

Someone else suggested: “AI bros are some of the most unserious people on the planet.”

“Even ignoring all the slop this ad is so cynical and unfun,” another argued.

indy100 has contacted TBWA\NEBOKO and The Gardening.club for comment.

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