Commercial in Netherlands depicting festival-season chaos at ‘most terrible time of year’ prompted flurry of criticism online
McDonald’s says it has removed an AI-generated Christmas advertisement in the Netherlands after it was criticised online.
The ad, titled “the most terrible time of the year”, depicts scenes of Christmas chaos, with Santa caught in a traffic jam and a gift-laden Dutch cyclist slipping in the snow. And the message? Retreat to a McDonald’s restaurant until January and ride out the festive season.
But the generative AI advertisement from the Big Mac maker’s Netherlands division sparked a flurry of criticism on social media.
“This commercial single-handedly ruined my Christmas spirit,” said one user. “Good riddance to AI slop,” posted another.
