Over the last few years we've seen plenty of sheepish apologies from brands after they were caught using AI to create advertising materials. From Lego to Pokémon Go publisher Niantic, brands have generally seemed contrite when confronted with evidence of artificially generated assets. But in recent months, something seems to have shifted.
This Christmas we saw not one but two major AI controversies, from two of the world's biggest brands. Both McDonald's and Coca-Cola chose to slop all over the festive season with unapologetically obvious AI offerings. And just this week, Samsung dropped a bunch dodgy ads – ironically designed to advertise the Galaxy S26's AI camera features – on social media.
Neither Coca-Cola nor Samsung have shown any kind of remorse over producing slop – in fact, with small-print pointing out the use of AI adorning both brands' ads, what we're seeing looks more like pride.
To be fair, McDonald's did eventually pull its AI Christmas ad in response to the backlash, but that doesn't change the fact that, like Coke and Samsung, the brand initially had no qualms about putting out a blatantly AI-generated ad.
So why are brands suddenly unafraid to release such slop? One worrying possibility is that the shame is simply wearing off. Back in 2023 and 2024, when viewers spotted the tell-tale signs of AI; mangled typography, extra fingers, uncanny lighting, brands scrambled into damage-control mode. AI still felt somewhat illicit, like an 'ideation' tool whose output was actually meant to meet the eyes of consumers.
Whether we like it or not, there can be no denying that the AI aesthetic is becoming normalised. From overly polished corporate headshots to ludicrously dramatic YouTube thumbnails, it's clearly becoming less taboo to use the tech in certain applications.
But judging by the vitriolic public comments on Coca-Cola's, McDonald's and Samsungs' ads, viewers still largely disapprove of blatant AI use from brands. Which points, perhaps, to a disconnect between consumers and ad teams. Perhaps these brands are being led by internal politics of 'innovation'. In a world where every tech brand on the planet is trumpeting 'AI-powered' features as a mark of forward momentum, it's possible that advertisers don't want to be seen as lagging behind – even if it means pumping out sub-par visuals.
But there is, of course, a more cynical reading. Rather than being oblivious to consumers' continued distain for obvious AI visuals, perhaps brands don't care. The internet roasted Coca-Cola's Christmas ad, but was there any kind of meaningful boycott? Did sales dip? It's possible that brands are coming to the realisation that a brief period of angry online noise is worth it for the reduction in production time and shoot costs – even if the overall quality of the ad is dramatically reduced too.
AI might be becoming more commonplace, but there's no denying that a blatantly AI-produced ad looks much worse than one that saw blood, sweat and tears poured into it. Brands know this as well as you and I do – the question is whether or not they actually care.
