Following intense backlash from an overwhelming portion of the internet, McDonald’s decided to take down their AI-generated Christmas commercial. This comes after the production company behind the advert defended its work in an equally controversial manner.

As reported by the BBC, the commercial was uploaded to the McDonald’s Netherlands YouTube Channel on December 6. Three days later, however, the video was long gone, motivated by the incessant hate video that managed to farm, thanks to its indiscriminate use of generative AI.

The video, however, has been reuploaded by many, motivated by a desire to hold the production company behind it, The Sweetshop, accountable. Theodore McKenzie shared the video and labeled it “the most god-awful ad I’ve seen this year,” even declaring it worse than Coca-Cola’s.

The video in question explores the “bad side” of Christmas, featuring “scenes” depicting bad weather, awful traffic, terrible cooking, and even accidents that could very well be fatal. All the while, an alternate version of “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” probably named “It’s the Most Terrible Time of the Year,” plays in the background.

The internet was set ablaze by the commercial, blasting its blatant use of generative AI in media, featuring weird animations, impossible physics, and an eerie, uncanny valley aesthetic. The video’s message that Christmas is awful unless you spend it in McDonald’s also didn’t help.

And while the millions online were calling out McDonald’s for their decision to make an ad with AI-slop, The Sweetshop decided to double down.

Citing a now-unavailable statement, Futurism cited The Sweetshop’s CEO, Melanie Bridge, who defended their use of generative AI to “craft” the infamous McDonald’s ad. The statement detailed that 10 of their “in-house AI and post specialists” worked for seven straight weeks, hardly sleeping, to achieve what they ultimately put out online.

The CEO detailed that they generated “thousands of takes” and then shaped them to achieve what she compared to a “high-craft production.” She called the commercial a “film” rather than an “AI trick.”

The defensive statement didn’t stop there, as the CEO continued her defense. Again, the statement has since been deleted:

I don’t see this spot as a novelty or a cute seasonal experiment. To me, it’s evidence of something much bigger: that when craft and technology meet with intention, they can create work that feels genuinely cinematic. So no – AI didn’t make this film. We did.

While the McDonald’s AI advert was deleted, it sets an awful precedent for those involved in real, non-AI-generated productions. Unfortunately, “The Big M” is not the first giant to dip its toes in the AI puddle.

As mentioned above, Coca-Cola, for two years in a row, shared AI-generated Christmas ads, which were called out by many. Most recently, Disney inked a $1 billion deal with OpenAI and Sora to add 200 characters, including Mickey Mouse, to the generative video platform.