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."
