McDonald’s Netherlands pulls AI ad: Is the market ready for iconic brands to go generative?

This holiday season, McDonald’s Netherlands tried something bold, flipping the traditional festive cheer on its head with an AI-driven Christmas advert. Reimagining the classic It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year song as “The most terrible time of the year,” the campaign leaned into the chaos of December, highlighting the stress, overbooked calendars, and household mishaps that many viewers experience during the season.

Produced by TBWA\NEBOKO in collaboration with US production company The Sweetshop and an international team of AI specialists, the 45-second spot was designed to mix humour, hyper-real visuals, and generative AI for a fully realised, albeit unconventional, festive ad.

Despite the campaign’s creative ambition, the response was sharply divided. Online backlash quickly mounted over the uncanny visuals, stitched-together clips, and AI-generated characters, prompting McDonald’s Netherlands to remove the video shortly after its release. Critics cited not only the eerie aesthetics but also broader concerns about AI displacing traditional filmmaking roles. The company framed the decision as a learning moment in exploring the effective use of AI for marketing.

The criticism was akin to what many other brands, which also experimented with AI-generated holiday content, faced and raises a larger question for marketers and creative professionals alike: Is the general market ready to embrace AI-driven storytelling for iconic, well-loved brands, or does the medium itself risk overshadowing the message?

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_{While the original ad has been pulled down, copies of it has been uploaded to other channels on YouTube.}

Did the ad miss the mark?

As the debate unfolds, agency leaders, creative directors, and AI filmmakers that MARKETING-INTERACTIVE and A+M reached out to, weighed in on whether generative AI can complement tradition without alienating audiences, and what it takes to strike that balance in culturally sensitive and brand-driven campaigns.

Madina Kalyayeva, managing director and partner at Tilt, said the execution itself wasn’t the problem, but it was rather it was the concept. “AI can absolutely be used as a creative tool, but in this case, having an AI-led ad wasn’t strong enough to carry a concept that already leaned into risky emotional territory,” she said. “Viewers subconsciously expect warmth and handcrafted storytelling during festive campaigns. Here, the film’s darker, moodier tone clashed with audience expectations. The scene felt inconsistent, and at times, unintentionally irritating.

Donavan Ratnasingam, founder and filmmaker at Vision Machina, agreed that the idea had potential but fell short in execution. “Flipping Christmas into something overwhelming and using McDonald’s as a refuge was a smart, fresh angle,” he said. “But the satire didn’t land. The AI visuals needed more layers, and the storytelling beats weren’t tight enough to support the concept."

The tone felt muddled between dark humour and melancholy, leaving audiences unsure of what to feel.

Adding to this, Fey Ilyas, founder of creative consultancy Current Media Group, said the ad felt more like “a proof-of-concept that accidentally went to market” than a finished commercial. He noted that the core insight of holiday stress, required human warmth to resonate. “By using AI, McDonald’s removed the humanity, turning a relatable complaint into a cold, dystopian lecture,” he said.

The takeaway shifted from ‘McDonald’s is a refuge from holiday stress’ to ‘McDonald’s is experimenting with AI,’ which buried the actual creative idea.

He added that the execution could have been strengthened by making AI part of the narrative rather than the entire production method. For instance, the “holiday stress” sequences could have embraced chaotic AI visuals, contrasted with warm, grounded live-action scenes the moment the protagonist enters McDonald’s. “You simply need real humans to portray genuine empathy and connection,” he said. “Used that way, AI becomes intentional instead of distracting.”

Is the market ready for AI?

Both experts underscored that McDonald’s situation highlights how early brands are in understanding AI’s role in emotionally sensitive campaigns. Kalyayeva explained, “Creatively and reputationally, we’re still early in the AI maturity curve. Many brands underestimate how strongly consumers react when AI intersects with emotionally loaded cultural moments."

Pulling the ad signals that McDonald’s is still calibrating what responsible, brand-safe AI usage looks like—and so is the industry.

Ratnasingam added that the issue isn’t about readiness alone but intentionality. “Brands want to explore AI, but the real question is whether the craft supports the idea. If the work feels rushed or unintentional, backlash follows. Not just because it’s AI, but because storytelling didn’t earn the medium. Proper AI cinematic production is a new filmmaking medium, not a shortcut.”

Fey shared a similar view, noting that brands are still treating AI backlash as a PR crisis rather than a creative debate. “True maturity will come when brands stop using AI just to say they used it, and start using it only when it is the best tool for the job,” he said.

He pointed to Coca-Cola’s investment in long-term AI infrastructure, such as its Adobe partnership and Project Fizzion, as an example of a brand that’s prepared to weather criticism. “They see backlash as temporary growing pains. McDonald’s couldn’t defend the creative because, objectively, the craft wasn’t strong enough to stand behind.”

How to get holiday AI ads right

Looking ahead, the three creatives offered clear guidelines for AI-driven campaigns. Kalyayeva emphasised that emotionally loaded moments such as Christmas aren’t off-limits, but the execution must respect audience expectations. “Successful AI ads need a strong idea that benefits from AI, high craft that doesn’t break emotional immersion, and a narrative tone that’s unmistakable,” she said.

Ratnasingam echoed this, adding practical advice:

It is important to have a creative AI producer direct the story, maintain visual consistency, and consider mixed media approaches. The tech should not carry the story. The story needs to lead the tech.

He added further: “What actually makes an AI-driven ad successful is the same thing that makes any good film successful: clarity, intention, and taste.” Ratnasingam cited his team’s work on a Cold Storage Christmas campaign, where AI-generated elf characters were integrated into live-action footage, as an example of a mixed-media approach that resonated with audiences.

Fey agreed that the benchmark remains the same regardless of the tools involved. He cited Heinz’s “A.I.” ketchup experiment—where an image generator was asked to “draw ketchup”—as an example of AI being used to reveal insight, rather than distract from it.

If the audience’s first thought is ‘AI slop’ or even ‘cool AI,’ the ad has failed. If their first thought is ‘That’s a brilliant idea,’ and AI merely facilitated it, the ad wins.

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