McDonald's withdrew an AI-generated Christmas commercial three days after posting it, following criticism that spread across social platforms and drew coverage from advertising and mainstream press.
The 45-second spot, titled It's the Most Terrible Time of the Year, was released by the company's Netherlands operation on December 6, 2025 and taken down by December 9. The video used AI-generated characters throughout.
Criticism concentrated on execution rather than message. Viewers on X described the spot as unsettling, creepy, poorly edited and inauthentic, and pointed to facial rendering that fell into the uncanny valley range where near-human images produce discomfort rather than recognition. One character from the commercial has since circulated as a reaction meme used to mock other AI-generated advertising.
Measured brand impact from similar campaigns has been documented. Sentiment tracking around the Toys R Us origin film generated with OpenAI's Sora model recorded positive brand sentiment falling from 12.2% to 3.4% while negative sentiment rose from 13.5% to 53.4% in the days after release.
Valentino followed a comparable path, pulling an AI campaign from Instagram after customer criticism that the material felt flat.
Survey work indicates the reaction is not confined to individual campaigns. A June 2026 Harris Poll found 78% of consumers say AI makes advertising feel less authentic, 73% say they are less likely to trust an ad they believe was AI-made, and 63% say they are less likely to buy from a brand using AI-generated advertising.
Source: Yahoo News - https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/mcdonalds-pulls-controversial-christmas-commercial-044500195.html