Artificial Intelligence has officially crashed the Christmas season — and not in the way brands hoped. McDonald’s Netherlands pulled its new 45-second AI-generated holiday advert after it was met with fierce online ridicule, with viewers calling it “awful”, “anti-Christmas” and “pure slop”. The ad, which portrayed chaotic festive scenes and suggested hiding in a McDonald’s until January, sparked such backlash that the company deleted it and called the moment “an important learning”. Coca-Cola faced similar criticism after releasing AI-generated Christmas ads featuring glitchy animation, including trucks that change shape mid-scene. Viewers accused the brand of replacing creatives with algorithms and ruining its classic holiday magic. The message from the internet is clear: AI may be efficient — but it’s no match for Christmas nostalgia.