- McDonald’s Netherlands released a Christmas ad on Dec. 6 that calls the holiday season “the worst time of the year.”
- The ad quickly drew criticism, with many viewers condemning its grim message and use of AI.
- In response to the controversy, McDonald’s Netherlands removed the ad from its YouTube channel.
McDonald’s latest Christmas ad has generated much buzz online, and not for jolly reasons. Posted to the McDonald’s Netherlands YouTube channel, the commercial puts a bleak twist on the holidays, and viewers are far from impressed (especially since it was created using AI).
The use of generative AI in advertising is on the rise, with iconic brands like Coca-Cola experimenting during the holidays. Now, one of the world’s biggest fast food chains has jumped in — and the move hasn’t gone over smoothly.
Many social media users have criticized McDonald’s AI use, raising concerns about creativity and authenticity. Let’s break down the backlash.
Why are people angry about McDonald’s new Christmas ad?
McDonald’s
On Saturday, Dec. 6, McDonald’s Netherland posted a new Christmas ad on its YouTube channel. The 45-second commercial takes a dark look at the holidays, showing everything from disastrous family dinners to burnt cookies and hectic shopping trips.
It even changes the classic holiday slogan, “it’s the most wonderful time of the year,” to “the most terrible time of the year.”
The ad attempts to present McDonald’s as a safe haven amid the holiday madness, but its use of AI has drawn widespread backlash. Following its debut, social media flooded with negative reactions. One user on X called it “the ugliest, most gloomy and depressing AI slop” they’ve ever seen.
Another user wrote, “McDonald’s unveiled what has to be the most god-awful ad I’ve seen this year – worse than Coca-Cola’s.” They decried the commercial as “repulsive” and “more cynical about Christmas than the Grinch.”
Beyond the AI-generated elements, some viewers slammed the commercial’s theme. “The message of this ad is ‘the holidays suck’ and its solution is to spend as much time in McDonald’s as possible. Forget your friends and family…have a Big Mac,” an X user noted.
How has McDonald’s responded to the controversy?
McDonald’s
In the wake of the controversy, McDonald’s Netherlands quickly disabled comments on its YouTube page. As of this writing, the ad has been removed from the channel.
The company provided the following statement to Entertainment Weekly: “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.”
The McDonald’s ad was created by U.S. production company the Sweetshop and Dutch company TBWA\Neboko, per BBC. In a now-deleted statement, reported by Futurism, Sweetshop CEO Melanie Bridge defended the ad and the work that went into it.
“For seven weeks, we hardly slept, with up to 10 of our in-house AI and post specialists at The Gardening Club [our in-house AI engine] working in lockstep with the directors,” Bridge said. “We generated what felt like dailies — thousands of takes — then shaped them in the edit just as we would on any high-craft production. This wasn’t an AI trick. It was a film.”
The statement continued, “I don’t see this spot as a novelty or a cute seasonal experiment. To me, it’s evidence of something much bigger: that when craft and technology meet with intention, they can create work that feels genuinely cinematic. So no — AI didn’t make this film. We did.”
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