McDonald’s has pulled a Christmas ad that was produced with artificial intelligence after the fast-food chain came under fire from much of the public.

The 45-second film was released publicly on McDonald’s Netherlands YouTube channel on Dec. 6. Comprising a sequence of AI-generated clips, the ad featured people having a tough time at Christmas – caught in bad weather, disastrous family dinners, a Christmas tree falling and burnt Christmas cookies. The song, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” became “the most terrible time of the year.”

The solution: “Hide out in McDonald’s until January’s here.”

However, it wasn’t the cynicism that rankled the public. Comments online were almost all negative, with people accusing McDonald’s of embracing “AI slop.” A large number of people called the ad “creepy” or “lazy,” with some decrying a future in which companies try to save a few pennies at Christmas by not hiring humans. Google LLC and The Coca-Cola Co. have faced a similar backlash after creating AI-generated ads.

“No actors, no camera team, no light, no sound, just probably one guy, alone in front of a computer battling with an AI prompt who steals the look and everything else from someone else,” said an Instagram user about the McDonald’s ad. “Welcome to the future of filmmaking.”

The advert was created by Dutch company TBWA\Neboko along with the U.S. production company The Sweetshop. Sweetshop Chief Executive Melanie Bridge seemed less than pleased with the criticism, writing in a statement that it took seven weeks to make the ad with up to 10 in-house AI and post specialists.

“We generated what felt like dailies — thousands of takes — then shaped them in the edit just as we would on any high-craft production,” she said in a post on Instagram that has now been removed. “This wasn’t an AI trick. It was a film… AI didn’t make this film. We did.”

“It’s fascinating that you’ve had to work so hard to make it not look like AI slop, but I’m afraid it’s still AI slop that’s really creepy to watch,” someone wrote in response. “Weirdly, it kind of gives me hope that AI just can’t replace human creativity! Here’s hoping.”

Nonetheless, according to data compiled by the social media management and analytics company Sprout Social, the recent surge of AI-generated ads has gained positive responses from 61% of the public. AI-entertainment is evidently divisive. It just seems those who aren’t in favor of it hate it.

“This moment serves as an important learning as we explore the effective use of AI,” McDonald’s told the BBC.

AI-generated image: McDonald’s