McDonald's AI Ad Backlash — Full Breakdown & Transcript

[00:01] McDonald's Philippines just posted something that really, really pissed off something that really, really pissed off a lot of people. And we'll see why in a second. So, in a now deleted post, McDonald's Philippines 2 days ago posted

[00:15] this. Celebrate being human with #worldfamousfries, #lovecoto. And it says, "Features an AI-generated character." Oh boy, what could this possibly be about? Well, let's take a

[00:30] look at this ad. It was posted also to the McDonald's Philippines YouTube channel titled The Golden Taste No One Can Resist. Because it's an ad that Can Resist. Because it's an ad that McDonald's just put out 2 days ago.

[00:43] It features a woman grabbing some of fries, and then she looks really happy. types something into an AI bot called Chip AI.

[01:02] >> I'm AI. I can do anything you can possibly imagine.

[01:18] >> As you guys just saw, it features a AI-generated K-pop idol-looking guy in a field of multicolored flowers, and then he starts singing about being AI. Just look at these still frames, man. Like, what is happening here? We've got him

[01:33] laying on top of a street like a giant with these, I don't know, kids toy-looking buildings behind doing the most AI-generated version of Chongqing possible. This is like nightmare fuel, honestly. Oh my god.

[01:49] known I >> Like, this is so evidently and obviously AI-generated. And like, they're not lying, right? Because like they're telling you that it's AI generated, but it's so blatant.

[02:02] You know, every time I see these types of generative AI stuff, there's always the ones where they're trying to make it look as real as possible, aka as not AI as possible. This one went full other side of the boat where they are trying

[02:18] to make it look as AI generated as possible. Yeah, give me all the realistic-looking clocks. Give me buildings in the sky. The most saturated >> questions you could ever [singing] ask. >> Why are McDonald's fries so good?

[02:33] >> Hmm. I have read everything about them. Those fresh, crispy, golden, world-famous fries. The data implies humans got it bad for McDonald's fries. Almost. >> I'm loving it.

[03:00] from my memory, McDonald's in the Philippines has the massive thing of >> I'm loving it. >> But the video basically features groups of people eating McDonald's, mainly highlighting the fries, right? And then

[03:12] the AI guy is just like creepily looming over their shoulders or behind them the entire time, looking at them eating the fries, looking at them massively through the window while they are eating the fries, sitting in between a couple while

[03:25] fries, sitting in between a couple while they are eating fries. look at him just creeping on them massively through the window as they're

[03:40] massively through the window as they're eating. at the very end, as you know, the AI is singing, it's like, "Hey, I want to

[03:56] then he reaches for the fry and then he can't grab it cuz he's AI, cuz he's not real. But, oh man, this is definitely something. People clowned on this so hard on Twitter, by the way. It was so freaking funny. I think mainly because

[04:11] captioned, "Celebrate being human." Because the implication is, "Oh, because you're human, you can eat the amazing yummy McDonald's fries, but these poor AI slave bots at your phone can't eat it because they're AI. So, like, you should

[04:26] eat the fries." That seems to be the anyways. Which is why it says, "Celebrate being human." But everyone was clowning on it because it says, "Celebrate being human." And features a

[04:39] hell of a lot of gen AI. Like, most of the video is gen AI with gen AI music voice-overs and obviously the character. And in the comments of the YouTube The comments are full of people being like, "Whoever pitched this idea, I hope

[04:52] you're having a bad year." There's people saying, "Cringe, ew, I don't like generative AI. They thought they ate. Haha." Right? And the other half of the comments are what looks to be very positively

[05:04] AI-generated "Go McDonald's" type comments. But, you know, there has to be a rhyme or a reason as to why this was the ad, right? So, let's take a look at what the people that created the ad had to say. So, this is posted to Adobo

[05:18] Magazine titled "McDonald's Philippines celebrates what makes us human in the age of AI." The chief marketing officer of McDonald's Philippines says, "For part of everyday moments that people genuinely look forward to. So much so

[05:32] abundance of data that points to one undeniable truth. Humans love McDonald's fries. So, this led us to an interesting tension. Technology can analyze those moments, but it can never experience them. That's what inspired this idea.

[05:46] wants them. And the chief creative officer says, "We asked ourselves if AI ritual, and memory surrounding McDonald's fries, what would it discover?" That question eventually led to an AI character that we fondly call

[06:00] the uniquely human enjoyment behind every fry moments. And it continues, presence in McDonald's Philippines' social universe over the next coming interesting because at the end of the day, when it comes to marketing

[06:16] campaigns, right? There always is an end goal. Either they're trying to generate sales, they're trying to increase public perception, but this is what looks to be doing none of the above. So, I'm just very interested in the thought process

[06:31] clowned on Twitter, they're getting dogged on on YouTube, and they're Comments of people criticizing the generative AI being used. So far, I see comment deletions because everything else got deleted. And again, they got

[06:46] clowned on so hard they had to actually delete the Twitter post. And that's what did they just not learn from their previous AI-generated videos? And if you that if I remember, I'll link down below. But McDonald's Netherlands

[07:00] actually created an AI-generated Christmas ad featuring nightmare fuel people. It was zooming into their faces real deep with fisheye lenses, and it was looking mad creepy, and they got clowned off the internet. And I believe

[07:12] they deleted that YouTube video. So, somehow, someway, a lesson wasn't learned, and they did it again, but in the division of a different country. Hmm. Very interesting. I just think at the end of

[07:26] people for generative AI, and there's a lot of people against generative AI, right? But if the goal is to increase exposure, I guess that job was done because now people are talking about McDonald's Philippines, but there's a

[07:39] like, "Boycott McDonald's. I don't want to eat McDonald's anymore because of the ad. So, I don't know if it had the intention that they were looking for with this post. I'm curious about your thoughts though. Did you watch the ad

[07:52] and if so, what are your thoughts on chip and the AI-generated song and the AI-generated guy trying to eat the fries? But to add a positive note, let me share with you a really cool video. So, this is a video posted by Jennifer

[08:04] POV on Instagram and the caption reads how I use AI art as a disabled person. cute with the glasses. And then it says, "I don't." And it features her drawing

[08:17] while holding the stylus with her mouth. This is so freaking cool. I will have Jennifer linked down below. This video went super viral. It's at like at least a million views, something like that. But mad respect. In the age of

[08:30] saying, "Oh, I use gen AI because this, because I'm lazy, because I can't pick up a pencil." And she has a cat throwing a canvas at you being like, "No." her. She's not resorting to generative

[08:43] AI and she's still making human-made art, which I think is so freaking cool. So, I just wanted to share that, a little bit of positivity in this realm of all this generative AI, this generative AI, that. I'll have Jennifer

[08:56] linked down below. Please go check her out. Their artwork seems so freaking cool. So, they deserve all the love. But with that, again, I would love to hear Philippines and that AI ad down below. I have an Etsy shop and a coffee if you

[09:09] want to check me out there. I'm trying to grow my Instagram to 100k. I'm eons off, but you know, a girl can dream, right? I'm like 7k off. So, my Instagram is catlynette.ttv if you want to check me out there. And I also stream on

[09:22] Saturdays at 6:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time or Thursdays at 7:30 where I do a podcast with my friend. So, I hope to catch you all there or in another video. catch you all there or in another video. Peace.