Viewers were not lovin’ it.
McDonald’s has taken down a Christmas advert that was allegedly solely produced with artificial intelligence after the model was slammed with an onslaught of backlash from sad prospects.
The 45-second commercial from McDonald’s Netherlands was first posted on their YouTube channel on Dec. 6 and was eliminated just a few days later on Dec. 9 following the outcry online.
In the video, AI-generated people are continually experiencing strokes of unhealthy luck, with chaotic household dinners, buying woes, burnt cookies, failed Christmas tree adorning and so on.
“McDonald’s unveiled what has to be the most god-awful ad I’ve seen this year,” one person wrote on X. “Fully AI-generated, that’s one. Looks repulsive, that’s two. More cynical about Christmas than the Grinch, that’s three.”
The advert is set to a track to the tune of “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” — but the made-up lyrics are the track’s antidote, calling the vacation season “the most terrible time of the year.”
The business ends by telling viewers to “hide out in McDonald’s until January’s here.”
After the harsh criticism, McDonald’s initially turned off feedback on the YouTube video before eradicating it fully.
McDonald’s has launched an AI-generated Christmas advertThe studio behind it says they ‘hardly slept’ for several weeks while writing AI prompts and refining the pictures — ‘AI did not make this movie. We did’Comments have been turned off on YouTube pic.twitter.com/Es5ROvI7n2— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) December 8, 2025
McDonald’s Netherlands instructed the BBC that the video was meant to “reflect the stressful moments that can occur during the holidays,” but it was “an important learning” second as the company explored “the effective use of AI.”
Though it’s been eliminated from their official YouTube, it’s been reposted many occasions on social media, where the response is still largely destructive, criticizing the use of AI as effectively as the destructive message of the advert.
“If they were going for creepy, depressing, deeply unfunny, clumsily shot, poorly edited, and inauthentic — nailed it!” someone quipped on X.
The commercial from McDonald’s Netherlands was first posted on Dec. 6 and eliminated just a few days later on Dec. 9. McDonald’s Netherlands
“It sucks. It’s awful. There’s no artistry. No wit. No charm. No warmth. No humanity. You can tell it’s AI from a million miles away. I hate it. You should hate it. We should relentlessly mock and deride and bully anyone or any company that uses AI like this,” another post said.
“Advertisements are meant to connect brands with humans who have money. When brands create crappy ads, they only diminish the relationship between them and their customers,” another famous.
“Let’s hope AI customers eat as many burgers as real ones,” one quipped.
“Very fitting for a place that sells fake food to make a fake ad,” someone else wrote.
“As real as their hamburgers,” someone added.
After the harsh criticism, McDonald’s initially turned off feedback on the YouTube video before eradicating it fully. McDonald’s Netherlands
Meanwhile, The Gardening.membership, the AI division of The Sweetshop, the studio behind the advert, is defending the advert, noting on LinkedIn that the AI-generated advert still took “seven intense weeks” for people to create, admitting that “the man-hours poured into this film were more than a traditional production.”
Melanie Bridge, CEO of The Sweetshop, shared a comparable sentiment on Instagram, saying that, “The hours that went into this job far exceeded a traditional shoot. Ten people, five weeks, full-time. Blood, sweat, tears, and an honestly ridiculous amount of coaxing to get the models to behave and to honor the creative brief shot by shot.”
Still, these defenses took criticism of its own.
The advert ends by telling viewers to “hide out in McDonald’s until January’s here.” McDonalds Netherlands
“7 weeks of post… wouldn’t that be the same as shooting it for real with some post effects? Serious question,” someone requested.
“Guys, still a very long way to get there. Brief aside (which in general was bad), it’s still AI slop, doesn’t matter if it took 7 week of post. It’s so unnatural,” another commented.
“It’s fascinating that you’ve had to work so hard to make it not look like AI slop, but I’m afraid it’s still AI slop that’s really creepy to watch. Weirdly, it kind of gives me hope that AI just can’t replace human creativity! Here’s hoping,” one famous.
“This is terrible. You admit spending more time and effort than traditional methods (and consume more finite resources by needlessly using wildly unsustainable tech) for an end result consumers hated so much that your client can’t use your ‘work,’” a person wrote.
McDonald’s isn’t the only company who has just lately confronted backlash for AI-generated advertisements.
Coca-Cola’s “Holidays Are Coming” marketing campaign featured two AI-generated commercials, which immediately sparked criticism online.
Italian fashion home Valentino was also slammed after unveiling an commercial that includes Artificial Intelligence, with trendsetters trashing the release as “cheap” and “tacky.”
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