McDonald's Netherlands withdrew a fully AI-generated Christmas advertisement in December 2025 after social media users criticized the video as unsettling and off-tone for the holiday season.
The 45-second spot, titled "The Most Terrible Time of the Year," was posted to the company's Dutch YouTube channel on December 6. Set to a reworked version of "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year," the ad depicted a string of holiday mishaps: presents knocked off a car by a low bridge, carol singers losing their sheet music to the wind, Santa's sled stuck in traffic, a man breaking bones while ice skating, a woman dragged by a tram after her coat caught in the door, and a man left hanging by his feet after a Christmas-light mishap. The ad told viewers to escape the "madness" and "hide out in McDonald's till January's here."
The commercial drew criticism on social media, with some users calling the visuals "unsettling," "creepy" and "poorly edited." Others said the concept itself was too cynical for the holiday season regardless of the AI production method. McDonald's Netherlands removed the ad from its platforms and told NBC News that while the spot was intended to reflect holiday stress, the company recognized the season is "the most wonderful time of the year" for many guests.
The film was produced for McDonald's Netherlands by U.S. production company The Sweetshop Films and Dutch advertising agency TBWA/Neboko. Sweetshop Films CEO Melanie Bridge defended the project in a LinkedIn post, later deleted, saying AI expanded the production "toolbox" and that the creative vision remained human, adding that the ad took ten people five weeks to complete. Some social media users expressed sympathy for the production team, while others raised broader concerns about AI's effect on creative industry jobs.
Source: NBC News - https://www.nbcnews.com/world/europe/mcdonalds-ai-generated-christmas-advert-social-media-backlash-rcna248590