That Controversial McDonald's AI Commercial Is a Sign of the Times

'Client and agency did exactly what they are supposed to do'

Sorry guys. AI is here. It’s loud, present, imperfect, experimental, and making its way into every corner of our industry. And now it hit the market with one of my former clients, McDonald’s. Whether you think the new McDonald’s AI ad is great or not, both the client and the agency (TBWA\Neboko) did exactly what they are supposed to do. Their jobs.

Agencies exist to live in the new. Our job is to sit on the edge of culture, craft, and technology and explore what comes next rather than hide inside familiar patterns. There are plenty of production shops for that. More than that, AI is not a trend we get to vote on. It is already woven into how we work, how our clients work (thank you Microsoft), how we communicate and how we create.

You can complain about it, but it is part of our world and it is only going to accelerate.

Clients also have a responsibility to take bold steps. Call it risk, call it innovation, call it experimentation. The truth is simple. Great brands move by acting before the industry feels comfortable. If you wait for consensus, the opportunity is gone. McDonald’s did what modern marketers must do. They stepped into the frontier even if it felt unfamiliar.

Creators deserve credit too. AI gives artists one of the most powerful tools we have had in decades. The shots in the ad may look simple, but anyone who has tried to create continuity in AI video knows how difficult it is. The craft is evolving. People are learning. This is a new medium finding its footing. If you think it is easy, make a full AI commercial for a national brand. I invite you to try. The gap between critique and creation is very real.

For agencies, AI is not a threat to creativity. It is a shift in the operating model. It changes how we make things, not what we make or why the work matters. Creativity, insight, storytelling and craft remain at the center.

What we are really seeing is resistance to change. People are stepping out of tidy art director and copywriter boxes where ownership was clean and accountability was simple. Those dividing lines are fading. The process is different. Collaboration is messier. And the discomfort is showing.

There is no reason this commercial should have been pulled. Thank you to the courageous agencies for doing your job, stepping into the future, and doing a lot of hard work. I would love to see anyone else try this.

And thank you for reminding us that we are not “there” yet. AI is average. And we as creatives have a longer runway than people think, unless they want the same familiar jokes, the same predictable shots and the same worn-out song and dance.

But that is not our job anymore. That is AI’s job now.