‘Ruined my Christmas spirit’: McDonald’s removes AI-generated ad after backlash; Agence France-Presse via The Guardian, December 10, 2025

 Agence France-Presse via The Guardian; "Ruined my Christmas spirit’: McDonald’s removes AI-generated ad after backlash

"Melanie Bridge, the chief executive of the Sweetshop Films, the company which made the ad, defended its use of AI 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.”

But that too sparked online debate.

Emlyn Davies, from the 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."

Estate of Johnny Cash suing Coca-Cola for using tribute act in advert; The Guardian, November 27, 2025

Laura Snapes, The Guardian; Estate of Johnny Cash suing Coca-Cola for using tribute act in advert

"The estate of Johnny Cash is suing Coca-Cola for illegally hiring a tribute act to impersonate the late US country singer in an advertisement that plays between college football games.

The case has been filed under the Elvis Act of Tennessee, made effective last year, which protects a person’s voice from exploitation without consent. The estate said that while it has previously licensed Cash’s songs, Coca-Cola did not approach them for permission in this instance."

Coca-Cola Funds Scientists Who Shift Blame for Obesity Away From Bad Diets; New York Times, 8/9/15

Anahad O'Connor, New York Times; Coca-Cola Funds Scientists Who Shift Blame for Obesity Away From Bad Diets:

"Marion Nestle, the author of the book “Soda Politics” and a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, was especially blunt: “The Global Energy Balance Network is nothing but a front group for Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola’s agenda here is very clear: Get these researchers to confuse the science and deflect attention from dietary intake.”

Funding from the food industry is not uncommon in scientific research. But studies suggest that the funds tend to bias findings. A recent analysis of beverage studies, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, found that those funded by Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, the American Beverage Association and the sugar industry were five times more likely to find no link between sugary drinks and weight gain than studies whose authors reported no financial conflicts...

But much like the research on sugary drinks, studies of physical activity funded by the beverage industry tend to reach conclusions that differ from the findings of studies by independent scientists.

Last week, the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana announced the findings of a large new study on exercise in children that determined that lack of physical activity “is the biggest predictor of childhood obesity around the world.”

The news release contained a disclosure: “This research was funded by The Coca-Cola Company.”"