New McDonald’s Christmas AI ad is causing a stir. “It’s the most terrible time of the year”

Coca-Cola’s recent AI-powered Christmas ad received a lot of attention – and criticism – for its strange visuals. Viewers noticed the Coca-Cola truck constantly changing shape and the number of wheels fluctuating rapidly. Many described it as poorly made. Now, McDonald’s is facing similar scrutiny with its newly released Christmas ad, which was created entirely using artificial intelligence.

McDonald’s AI Christmas ad – Stress, chaos, and a little too much uncanny valley

McDonald’s Netherlands launched a unique holiday ad created entirely using AI. Instead of showing the typical cheerful holiday scenes, the ad humorously portrays the often-chaotic and stressful reality of the season. Developed by TBWA\NEBOKO, the ad exaggerates common holiday struggles – things that would be difficult or expensive to film with real people – and positions McDonald’s as a small source of comfort amidst the craziness.

The ad is available to watch on YouTube, but the comments are turned off.

The ad has received a lot of criticism for appearing unsettling, blurry, and generally strange – some people even think it’s worse than Coca-Cola’s controversial AI Christmas ad. Many viewers found the ad’s gloomy portrayal of the holidays to be overly negative and depressing, particularly since it was from a fast-food brand that usually aims to provide comfort. What’s getting the most attention, however, is the studio’s insistence that the ad was crafted with significant human effort, specifically through careful writing and editing of AI prompts, and that AI wasn’t solely responsible for the final result.

AI can be helpful for specific tasks, but it doesn’t come close to replacing human creativity. Many people, including those in fields like video game development and filmmaking (like actor Benedict Cumberbatch), believe AI is getting too much attention. Cumberbatch points out that AI in film could remove the imperfections that actually give art its value. Plus, when AI tries to create realistic videos, it’s often easy to spot the fakes.

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2025-12-09 18:02