McDonald's has ignited a new round of public debate over artificial intelligence in advertising after releasing an AI-generated Christmas commercial for its Netherlands market and subsequently shutting off YouTube comments in response to mounting criticism. The campaign, produced by TBWA, an international AI creative team, and production company The Sweetshop, relies entirely on imagery generated through text prompting rather than traditional filming.
The Sweetshop CEO Melanie Bridge said the production demanded weeks of intensive overnight work as the team refined visuals and shaped the structure of the commercial. She explained that the script was designed for AI because a live-action shoot would have required a significantly higher budget, adding that the team aimed to make the film feel crafted by human directors rather than driven by technology.
Bridge defended the creative process in comments published by LBB Online, stating: "AI didn't make McDonald's Christmas ad. We did." She said the group approached the assignment as a challenge, not an experiment, and that the use of AI was secondary to the commercial's structure and tone. Her remarks argued that the final product should be evaluated on craft, not the tools used to produce it.
Culture Crave reported that the creators had been "awake for weeks" refining prompts and adjusting shot details. Bridge emphasized that the team intended to produce a polished Christmas narrative quickly, saying the comedic concept required flexibility that AI tools could accommodate without conventional production delays.
Public reaction surged across social platforms after the advertisement was released in early December. Although McDonald's disabled comments on YouTube, criticism migrated to X, Instagram and Reddit, where users questioned the motivations behind using generative AI for a major holiday campaign. Viewers raised concerns about the creators' descriptions of long hours spent crafting prompts, with one user on X saying: "Our fingers hurt from typing prompts. AI bros are some of the most unserious people on the planet."
On Instagram, reactions included commentary about authenticity and production values. One user wrote: "Fits well. Fake footage for fake food." Another criticized the lack of traditional filmmaking labor, saying: "No actors, no camera team, no light, no sound just probably one guy, alone in front of a computer battling with a AI promt [sic] who steals the look and everything else from someone else. Welcome to the future of filmmaking. And it sucks..."
