It’s probably a mistake to read too much into it but I can’t help but notice the McDonald’s ad is kind of a mirror held up to all the things that American culture has been progressing into: cynical, mean, isolated, artificial... whatever the opposite of “wholesome” is. Totally off-key for what Christmas is supposed to stand for. Christmas (at least the secular holiday) is supposed to be about kindness, putting differences aside, enjoying people and family, and the commercial was pretty much the opposite of that.

Here in the UK, Tesco is running a pretty similar campaign to the McDonald's one (without the AI): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=711Cq8_E0oI

I think Brits tend to be more cynical than Americans, though, so it kinda tracks.

That ad is brutal. I feel sorry for people who experience Christmas like this.

That montage version is actually quite uplifting compared to the longer version of each individual segment:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMUWrBKHoKc

I mean, that's just depressing to watch :(

I'd like to know what Monopoly knock-off is partly in the shot here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebA8X4HChJM

PSA: if you have family meltdowns playing Monopoly, try following the rules and allowing auctions of un-bought property. At least the game may eventually end then. Or just don't play games intended to be teachable "well isn't this shit" moments.

Misery loves company. Some people just want other people to be as unhappy as they are.

Seemed pretty realistic to me!

One exception: with the stamp cost rise, I think this might be the year even the staunchest card senders may be reconsidering!

I remember my mum sending out 20 or 30 cards all with first class stamps. I don't see many millennials and down doing it. "Not in this economy"!

It was generated by McDonald’s Netherlands who said the ad was about Christmas mishaps in the Netherlands.

> It’s probably a mistake to read too much into it

I disagree; art both reflects and influences culture. If we don't discuss and explore the subtext of things, we're impacted without understanding, and that's never a good position to be in.

I don't think a commercial for a fast food joint can reflect an entire nation let alone the other 174 it has restaurants in.

There is no agreed on meaning of secular Christmas. It might converge on one some day, but secular culture is literally dying so it has only about 100 years to come up with one.

Merry Christmas!

> secular culture is literally dying

Can you elaborate on this? It doesn't match my experience at all.

What was the McDonald's ad? Could you drop a link, perhaps?

Here's a guardian link that tells the story and includes the ad: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/dec/11/mcdonalds-r...

> “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’.”

How to make your corporate response sound even more AI than the actual AI...

> "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.”

If it didn't even save time, then what was the point?

Ah the famous AI efficiency and productivity boost.

Thank you! Goodness, that ad made me want to barf

Both because of the content, and because of the odd perspective shifts in the AI-generated footage. It made me feel like I was drunk.

That ad looks like a concatenation of Tiktok shorts.

That's what happens when you just concatenate the output of an AI trained in Tiktok shorts …

(Which is a shame, as IA video generation can do much better if the author cares a bit about what they're doing).

Looking at it I see familiar elements, which are used by an artist going by the name Gossip Goblin to draw apocalyptic visions of a humanity far in the future that, for the N-th time, almost wiped itself out via increasingly invasive body modifications.

Sometimes telling the truth is unwelcome I guess.

Cheers bro!

I thought the McDonalds one was good and what does it matter it was AI ; mcdonalds makes artificial food and everything about the place is artificial so why not artificial ads?

I'm pro-AI but I thought the Coca-Cola and McDonald's ads were shit. The Coke one was especially egregious because if the creators hadn't been lazy they could have made it look half-decent. Instead it's janky and inconsistent and ugly.

The worst part about the Coke ad is the fake "making of" video they released to show how much manual work went into their ads. The "pencil sketches" ostensibly made by humans in the making of were also AI-generated.

I don't usually make salads with 750 calories and an entire day's worth of sodium when I cook.

I thought the McD add was hilarious - I would have preferred it not be AI.

The ad felt like a family guy skit. And animated about as well as modern FG animation.

I guess that will speak to if you will find the ad funny or just depressing. I don't think the Ai helped either way.

Yes, it was brilliant! As for AI, who cares? It's a commercial. Laugh, and move on.

I liked the McDonald's ad quite a bit because it encapsulated how I feel about this time of year - although I've never in my life eaten in a McDonald's and don't intend to start.