The advert, titled "the most terrible time of the year," depicts Christmas chaos, with Santa caught in a traffic jam and a present-laden Dutch cyclist slipping in the snow.

The message: retreat to a McDonald's restaurant until January and ride out the festive season.

But the generative AI ad from the Big Mac maker's Netherlands division sparked a (Mc)flurry of criticism on social media.

"This commercial single-handedly ruined my Christmas spirit," said one user. "Good riddance to AI slop," posted another.

McDonald's Netherlands said in a statement to AFP: "The Christmas commercial was intended to show the stressful moments during the holidays in the Netherlands.

"However, we notice -- based on the social comments and international media coverage -- that for many guests this period is 'the most wonderful time of the year.'"

Melanie Bridge, chief executive of The Sweetshop Films, which made the ad, defended its use of artificial intelligence in a post on LinkedIn.

"It's never about replacing craft, it's about expanding the toolbox. The vision, the taste, the leadership...that will always be human," she said.

"And here's the part people don't see: the hours that went into this job far exceeded a traditional shoot. Ten people, five weeks, full-time," Bridge added.

But this too sparked online debate.

Emlyn Davies, from independent production company Bomper Studio, replied to the LinkedIn post: "What about the humans who would have been in it, the actors, the choir?

"Ten people on a project like this is a tiny amount compared to shooting it traditionally live action."

Coca-Cola recently released its own AI-generated holiday ad, despite receiving backlash when it did the same last year.

The company's new offering avoids close-ups of humans and mostly features AI-generated images of cute animals in a wintry setting.

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McDonald's

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