The AI marketing backlash felt over the holiday season came as a surprise. In a world on the verge of AI dependency, these marketing hits are warning signs.
There is a time and a place for artificial intelligence, and it doesn’t seem consumers are ready to have AI forced upon them through advertising. Consumer trust is important in many industries, including the automotive industry, and advertising that leaves consumers behind or turns them away from a brand or product isn’t helpful. It’s difficult enough to push marketing to consumers with the number of skip buttons and ad-free choices they have; it won’t help if the dealership marketing strategy includes AI advertising that turns buyers away.
The AI marketing backlash could damage two global giants
Coca-Cola’s AI Christmas ad tanked positive sentiment from 24% to just 10%. McDonald’s had to delete theirs entirely. For car dealers investing in digital marketing, there’s a real lesson here about when AI helps and when it hurts. The Coca-Cola ad backlash could have gone the other direction, but it seems there’s a huge anti-AI sentiment among consumers who tire of computerized marketing ploys. Still, the Coca-Cola commercial wasn’t nearly as bad as the McDonald’s AI commercial, which had to be pulled. Digital advertising trends include the use of AI, but car dealerships and car brands should be cautious about AI-generated content that could lead to serious backlash.
What was so bad about the two AI-generated ads?
The McDonald’s Ad was horrible
The theme of the McDonald’s ad was showing various things that can go wrong during the holiday season. The negative side of things, without a positive outcome, seems like the opposite message to what most people look for during the holidays. Toss in the herkie jerky motions and plastic-y people that are clearly AI-generated, and you’ve got a real flop in your hands. The company makes billions of dollars per year, but couldn’t be bothered to include real people in the advertising. Finally, the movement from one scene to the next is a series of hard jump cuts that are simply too short and sloppy. It’s truly surprising that this ad passed the McDonald’s executives and made it to the public. You might not have seen the ad in America, as it was only intended for the Netherlands, but it gained worldwide disdain, which caused it to be removed by McDonald’s.
The Coca-Cola Ad wasn’t nearly as bad
Coca-Cola leaned into an old theme with a jingle “The Holidays Are Coming,” as the catch phrase. It is repeated several times as trucks carrying Coca-Cola drive on the highways. Along the way, animals poke their faces out from their homes to see the trucks drive past. This ad has positive appeal, and most viewers wouldn’t expect real animals to be used in the advertising, but the AI is what turned many consumers off to the ad. Overall, it’s a pretty good ad and well done, but the use of AI has caused some backlash.
How can car dealers avoid similar AI marketing backlash to Coca-Cola and McDonald’s?
AI adoption in car dealerships is surging, and it should be. Still, you don’t want the car buyer experience to be negatively impacted or to face any of the AI marketing backlash faced by two giants in their industries. It’s extremely likely that Coca-Cola and McDonald’s will survive any backlash from their ads, but a car dealership with only one or two locations might not. This means you need to be thoughtful and deliberate in your use of AI.
Nearly all dealerships use an AI chatbot to answer customer queries and address after-hours needs, but that doesn’t mean your staff should be left out of your advertising. Including your staff in the marketing experience provides a human element to the car sales process. You can offer augmented reality test drives, but nothing replaces the real thing. That said, your sales staff can perform virtual test drives for consumers, which still requires them to be part of the mix.
Using AI in your marketing efforts could be helpful, but in nearly every aspect of your marketing and advertising, there should be a human element. The Coca-Cola commercial was well done, full of cute animals, and brought back a classic theme and jingle, but still received massive backlash for its use of AI. Keep that in mind when creating your advertising to avoid AI marketing backlash. AI can provide tons of great ideas and roadmaps to where you want to go, but the journey and destination should be human-based to resonate with your audience.
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