McDonald’s Pulls AI Christmas Ad After Backlash, A Holiday Lesson In Brand Trust

photo-realistic cozy living room with a woman watching a slightly uncanny holiday scene on TV, gentle artifacts on screen only, no logos or text.

McDonald’s Netherlands tried to serve up a quick holiday crowd-pleaser with a 45-second AI-generated Christmas ad. Instead, it ran into the uncanny valley and pulled the spot after viewers called it creepy and poorly edited. The ad stitched together multiple generative clips to show holiday mishaps before suggesting time is better spent with the brand. […]