McDonald's, the world's most-walleted fast-food chain, recently unleashed an AI-generated ad that pokes fun at the horrors of Christmas. The 30-second spot featured jarringly realistic computer-generated people trudging through the holiday season with wintery woes like disastrous family dinners and botched caroling performances.
However, the response to this anti-holiday ad has been overwhelmingly negative. Critics claim it not only utilized AI in an unconvincing way but also sent a tone-deaf message, which might have contributed to its lackluster reception.
The studio behind the ad, The Sweetshop's AI division, took seven intense weeks to craft the short film. They put in "more than a traditional production" with 10 people and five weeks of full-time work. However, this extensive effort appears to have failed to deliver a message that resonated with viewers.
This ad's failure serves as another example of how corporate brands struggle to navigate the complex world of AI-generated content. While Coca-Cola recently received backlash for its own holiday ad featuring cartoon forest critters, McDonald's attempt was even more cringe-worthy in its humanization of the characters.
However, the response to this anti-holiday ad has been overwhelmingly negative. Critics claim it not only utilized AI in an unconvincing way but also sent a tone-deaf message, which might have contributed to its lackluster reception.
The studio behind the ad, The Sweetshop's AI division, took seven intense weeks to craft the short film. They put in "more than a traditional production" with 10 people and five weeks of full-time work. However, this extensive effort appears to have failed to deliver a message that resonated with viewers.
This ad's failure serves as another example of how corporate brands struggle to navigate the complex world of AI-generated content. While Coca-Cola recently received backlash for its own holiday ad featuring cartoon forest critters, McDonald's attempt was even more cringe-worthy in its humanization of the characters.
... think like this:
, but it seems they fell flat on their faces. The whole thing just felt really forced and... meh 
. I get what they were trying to do – poke fun at the chaos of Christmas – but execution matters too 
. It's like they said one thing (let's be real, not many people find AI-generated ads funny) and did another entirely different thing. I guess you could say it was a case of 'AI-Generate-but-not-so-greatly-execute' 
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but at the same time i think mcdonalds kinda nailed the vibe of a depressing christmas 
the ads were pretty relatable and the AI thing was like, cool, even if it didn't quite work as intended 
but yeah, maybe they overthought it and spent too much resources on it 
now its just a cautionary tale for brands trying to get in on the ai game 
. And don't even get me started on how cringeworthy those AI-generated humans are - it's like they're trying to be relatable but end up being just awkward 
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. It's all about short-term gains and not thinking about the long-term consequences. I mean, think about it - we're already seeing a backlash against this ad, and it's only been out for a few days 
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but seriously, i think mcDonald's just got played by their own hype machine they spent way too much time & resources on this and it shows 
ai might be cool n all but sometimes u dont need it to make an ad 
. Like, it's one thing to poke fun at Christmas, but this whole AI-generated thing just felt off 
. It's like they took all the holiday cheer and replaced it with a bunch of awkwardness 
The fact that the studio took 7 weeks and put in a team of 10 people just to get this one ad right is just so... corporate. And don't even get me started on how cringeworthy it was when they humanized those AI-generated characters 
Still, it's an interesting experiment, I guess 
It's just a cheap way to get attention. Should've stuck with a funny commercial like always, instead of trying to be artsy. 
it's like they forgot that the whole point of christmas is supposed to be joyful not cringeworthy 
maybe next time they should just stick to a good ol' fashioned happy ad instead of trying to be edgy or whatever 
? that's just excessive even for a big production like this. and honestly, who thought putting ai generated people in an ad was a good idea? it just looked so fake 
and the message was just all over the place 
. i mean i'm all for trying new things with tech, but sometimes you gotta know when to hold back 
. honestly tho, who cares? its just an ad, right?
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. It's like corporate brands are trying too hard to stay relevant and end up doing something ridiculous instead 
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! And don't even get me started on the humanization of the characters - I mean, who thought it was a good idea to make AI characters look like they're going through holiday trauma? It's just cringeworthy 
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. I MEAN, I GET THAT NOT EVERYONE LOVES THE HOLIDAYS, BUT DO WE REALLY NEED AN AD THAT POKES FUN AT THEM?! IT JUST SEEMS LIKE A REALLY BAD IDEA TO ME