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McDonald's Christmas commercial, created with Artificial Intelligence, has caused a storm of negative reactions in the Netherlands, being described by viewers as "scary" and "the most terrible commercial of the year."
The 45-second video, posted on December 6 on McDonald's Netherlands' official YouTube channel, was removed just days later after criticism erupted on social media. One Twitter user wrote: "This is the most terrible ad I've seen this year," while others described it as a disturbing mix of strange visuals and poor editing.
The ad, created by Dutch agency TBWA\Neboko in collaboration with American company The Sweetshop, aimed to show everything that could go wrong during the Christmas holidays, under the provocative slogan "the most terrible time of the year", suggesting that salvation was found... in McDonald's.
But what was intended as 'dark humor' was perceived by the public as something deeply disturbing. Critics focused not only on the 'scary' characters, but also on the use of Artificial Intelligence, raising the alarm about the loss of jobs in the creative industry. "No actors, no cameramen... welcome to the future of film. And it's terrible," wrote one commentator.
In the face of strong reactions, McDonald's admitted to the BBC that this was "an important lesson", stressing that the company is still trying to find the right way to use AI "more effectively".
On the other hand, The Sweetshop CEO Melanie Bridge defended the project, insisting that the ad was not a quick technological experiment. According to her, the production took seven weeks, with a team that “barely slept,” creating thousands of carefully edited shots. “It wasn’t an artificial intelligence trick. It was a film,” she declared.
However, for the Dutch public, the message was clear: Christmas can be stressful, but this ad took things too far.
McDonald's unveiled what has to be the most god-awful ad I've seen this year – worse than Coca-Cola's.
— Theodore McKenzie (@realTedMcKenzie) December 6, 2025
Fully AI-generated, that's one. Looks repulsive, that's two. More cynical about Christmas than the Grinch, that's three.
I don't wanna be the only one suffering, take a look: pic.twitter.com/lRYODLkkBJ
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