"Scariest time of the year" McDonald's becomes a laughing stock with terrible AI advertising
An advertising film made with artificial intelligence showed chaos at Christmas time in Amsterdam. It was supposed to be funny. But it turned out differently.
11.12.2025, 21:11
11.12.2025, 21:39
dpa
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- An AI-generated Christmas commercial for the fast food chain McDonald's has been withdrawn after harsh criticism.
- In the computer-generated video, which is supposed to be set in Amsterdam, Christmas is parodistically portrayed as "the most horrible time of the year".
- Due to numerous negative reactions online, the video was removed - a "learning experience" for McDonald's.
The US fast food company McDonald's has removed an advertising spot made with AI from the internet following fierce international criticism. The commercial gives the impression that it was filmed in Amsterdam. In reality, however, it was produced on a computer using AI. Negative reactions about the "AI crap" rained down on the Internet. The company now spoke of a "learning experience".
The Christmas commercial was actually meant to be funny. The following is sung during various scenes: "It's the most terrible time of the year", a reference to the Christmas song "It's the most wonderful time of the year". The message should be: You can only survive the chaos at McDonald's.
For example, you see a man cycling across a glassy canal bridge with a giant Christmas tree. An ice skater slips. A woman is dragged meters by a streetcar. Santa Claus is stuck in a traffic jam on a horse-drawn sleigh.
"Clichés" and "creepy"
But that didn't go down well. The Dutch took to the Internet to blaspheme about "clichés" and clearly fabricated photos. Negative comments about the use of AI also rained down on social media internationally. The commercial was "creepy", "poorly edited" and "illogical". There was also criticism that the company had not spent any money on real actors and cameramen.
McDonald's Netherlands took the commercial offline and spoke of an "important learning experience" in the use of AI. A company spokesperson told the German Press Agency that the commercial was intended to "show the stressful moments during the holidays in the Netherlands". However, after the many negative comments, "we realize that this time is the best time of the year for many guests".
