First Issue: AI Marketing Hall of Shame: Who’s Cutting Costs Only to Spark Ridicule?Teaser: AI Marketing Hall of Fame: Who’s Breaking New Ground with AI?

Amid the buzz that “every industry deserves to be reimagined with AI,” the advertising and marketing sector has taken the lead, charging ahead at full speed.

Yet, the bigger the wave, the more unsteady the steps. In the process of using AI to cut costs and boost efficiency, the integration of humans and tools, creativity and algorithms has led to numerous “failures.” Let’s take a look at which advertisers in 2025 ended up cutting costs only to spark ridicule through their use of AI.

Google’s Super Bowl AI Ad

Brand: GoogleReason for Hall of Shame: Over half of global cheese consumption is Gouda? Google, you’ve got to be kidding!

The first major AI ad failure of 2025 unfolded on the stage of the U.S. Super Bowl, featuring Google. Google originally intended to showcase how its artificial intelligence, Gemini AI, helps businesses drive growth through 50 case studies of small and micro - enterprises. However, in one case, the copy “Over half of global cheese consumption is Gouda” aroused netizens’ doubts. Eventually, this claim was proven false, generated by Gemini AI using SEO - related data.

The Six - Fingered Thumbs - Up

Brand: AsiarayReason for Hall of Shame: A six - fingered thumbs - up—welcome to the “uncanny valley”!

In March this year, a large - screen advertisement launched by Asiaray at Kunming Airport triggered strong public discomfort and criticism. In the poster, a girl with severely distorted facial features grinned widely, and her right hand, which gave a thumbs - up to passers - by, had 6 fingers, 5 of which were webbed together. Netizens exclaimed that they were “bullied by an AI ad.”

Do You Know My Flavor?

Brand: Oriental LeafReason for Hall of Shame: When freshness meets artificiality, this ad campaign lacks soul.

“Too much artificiality—did all the advertising budget go to feeding AI?” In May this year, Oriental Leaf’s outdoor ad campaign presented a clash between “freshness” and “artificiality.” Set against a turquoise background, the campaign featured two teenagers resting their cheeks and smiling, creating a vibrant and fresh visual atmosphere. However, a closer look at the posters revealed that the models had stiff facial expressions, obvious mechanical - looking finger joints, and a significant imbalance in the proportions of the boy’s left and right hands.

Peanuts Growing on Trees

Brand: BestoreReason for Hall of Shame: AI - generated images show peanuts growing on trees.

In August 2025, netizens noticed that peanuts in Bestore’s product promotional images were hanging on tree branches, which contradicts the common sense that “peanuts bloom above ground and bear fruit underground.” This blunder quickly went viral and became a trending topic on various social media platforms. Bestore later issued an urgent apology, stating that it had mistakenly used AI - generated image materials on the product detail pages of e - commerce platforms. Upon discovering the issue, the company immediately updated and corrected the relevant pages and launched a comprehensive scientific review of all product promotional materials.

Coca - Cola’s 2025 Christmas Ad

Brand: Coca - ColaReason for Hall of Shame: Blindly paying tribute with AI, never trying to surpass.

Coca - Cola, which was widely criticized last year for its AI Christmas ad, released another one this year. Interestingly, this year’s Christmas ad paid tribute to last year’s, which in turn paid tribute to the 1995 version. Under the night sky, a fleet of red Coca - Cola trucks traveled through mountains, forests, and villages. Animals such as seals, rabbits, and dogs along the way looked at the fleet with surprise and expectation in their eyes. There was nothing creative about the concept, and the visuals were criticized by netizens as “spooky.” The Christmas atmosphere Coca - Cola tried to create failed to resonate with the audience.

McDonald’s 2025 Christmas Ad

Brand: McDonald’sReason for Hall of Shame: Gloomy holiday vibes combined with scary visuals—McDonald’s made this Christmas even worse.

Shortly after Coca - Cola’s AI Christmas ad flopped, McDonald’s also had its own AI ad failure. This fully AI - generated Christmas ad depicted a series of unpleasant scenes during the holiday season and ended with a suggestion that viewers escape the terrible Christmas by hiding in the warm embrace of McDonald’s. The negative holiday mood, coupled with the eerie AI - generated visuals, led to the ad being widely criticized on social media as soon as it was released. Eventually, the company took the ad down.

Conclusion

From false copy to distorted images and disjointed messaging, these failures clearly show that while technology brings efficiency, it also amplifies risks. The application of AI in advertising and marketing is far from mature. When embracing AI, the industry must maintain a clear understanding and adopt prudent processes:

Review is a bottom - line, not an optionBoth the false claim about cheese consumption and the absurd “peanuts growing on trees” incident exposed the lack of a human review process. Factual and common - sense accuracy is the first insurmountable red line for AI - generated content and a bottom - line that professional marketers must firmly uphold.

AI is a tool; practitioners must improve their aesthetic tasteAI is a powerful auxiliary tool at this stage. Instead of relying on it for all copy and creative work, practitioners should think about how to make the most of this tool. Moreover, while using AI to improve efficiency, they should enhance their professional aesthetic sense and judgment to fundamentally eliminate shoddy and weird materials. This is not only a respect for users but also a reverence for the profession itself.

Brands should cherish brand trust and be wary of “hidden costs”Undoubtedly, the core goal of brands embracing AI is to cut costs and boost efficiency. However, using shoddy promotional materials to pursue this goal will not only weaken brand favorability but also increase the “hidden costs” of brand trust. Technology should serve the long - term relationship between brands and users, and any “shortcut” that harms user experience and brand favorability will turn out to be the most costly detour on the brand’s development path.

Of course, many excellent cases of AI application have emerged in the industry over the past year. In the next article, TOP Jun will sort out those cases that have used AI to “break new ground.”

First Issue: AI Marketing Hall of Shame: Who’s Cutting Costs Only to Spark Ridicule?Teaser: AI Marketing Hall of Fame: Who’s Breaking New Ground with AI?

Amid the buzz that “every industry deserves to be reimagined with AI,” the advertising and marketing sector has taken the lead, charging ahead at full speed.

Yet, the bigger the wave, the more unsteady the steps. In the process of using AI to cut costs and boost efficiency, the integration of humans and tools, creativity and algorithms has led to numerous “failures.” Let’s take a look at which advertisers in 2025 ended up cutting costs only to spark ridicule through their use of AI.

Google’s Super Bowl AI Ad

Brand: GoogleReason for Hall of Shame: Over half of global cheese consumption is Gouda? Google, you’ve got to be kidding!

The first major AI ad failure of 2025 unfolded on the stage of the U.S. Super Bowl, featuring Google. Google originally intended to showcase how its artificial intelligence, Gemini AI, helps businesses drive growth through 50 case studies of small and micro - enterprises. However, in one case, the copy “Over half of global cheese consumption is Gouda” aroused netizens’ doubts. Eventually, this claim was proven false, generated by Gemini AI using SEO - related data.

The Six - Fingered Thumbs - Up

Brand: AsiarayReason for Hall of Shame: A six - fingered thumbs - up—welcome to the “uncanny valley”!

In March this year, a large - screen advertisement launched by Asiaray at Kunming Airport triggered strong public discomfort and criticism. In the poster, a girl with severely distorted facial features grinned widely, and her right hand, which gave a thumbs - up to passers - by, had 6 fingers, 5 of which were webbed together. Netizens exclaimed that they were “bullied by an AI ad.”

Do You Know My Flavor?

Brand: Oriental LeafReason for Hall of Shame: When freshness meets artificiality, this ad campaign lacks soul.

“Too much artificiality—did all the advertising budget go to feeding AI?” In May this year, Oriental Leaf’s outdoor ad campaign presented a clash between “freshness” and “artificiality.” Set against a turquoise background, the campaign featured two teenagers resting their cheeks and smiling, creating a vibrant and fresh visual atmosphere. However, a closer look at the posters revealed that the models had stiff facial expressions, obvious mechanical - looking finger joints, and a significant imbalance in the proportions of the boy’s left and right hands.

Peanuts Growing on Trees

Brand: BestoreReason for Hall of Shame: AI - generated images show peanuts growing on trees.

In August 2025, netizens noticed that peanuts in Bestore’s product promotional images were hanging on tree branches, which contradicts the common sense that “peanuts bloom above ground and bear fruit underground.” This blunder quickly went viral and became a trending topic on various social media platforms. Bestore later issued an urgent apology, stating that it had mistakenly used AI - generated image materials on the product detail pages of e - commerce platforms. Upon discovering the issue, the company immediately updated and corrected the relevant pages and launched a comprehensive scientific review of all product promotional materials.

Coca - Cola’s 2025 Christmas Ad

Brand: Coca - ColaReason for Hall of Shame: Blindly paying tribute with AI, never trying to surpass.

Coca - Cola, which was widely criticized last year for its AI Christmas ad, released another one this year. Interestingly, this year’s Christmas ad paid tribute to last year’s, which in turn paid tribute to the 1995 version. Under the night sky, a fleet of red Coca - Cola trucks traveled through mountains, forests, and villages. Animals such as seals, rabbits, and dogs along the way looked at the fleet with surprise and expectation in their eyes. There was nothing creative about the concept, and the visuals were criticized by netizens as “spooky.” The Christmas atmosphere Coca - Cola tried to create failed to resonate with the audience.

McDonald’s 2025 Christmas Ad

Brand: McDonald’sReason for Hall of Shame: Gloomy holiday vibes combined with scary visuals—McDonald’s made this Christmas even worse.

Shortly after Coca - Cola’s AI Christmas ad flopped, McDonald’s also had its own AI ad failure. This fully AI - generated Christmas ad depicted a series of unpleasant scenes during the holiday season and ended with a suggestion that viewers escape the terrible Christmas by hiding in the warm embrace of McDonald’s. The negative holiday mood, coupled with the eerie AI - generated visuals, led to the ad being widely criticized on social media as soon as it was released. Eventually, the company took the ad down.

Conclusion

From false copy to distorted images and disjointed messaging, these failures clearly show that while technology brings efficiency, it also amplifies risks. The application of AI in advertising and marketing is far from mature. When embracing AI, the industry must maintain a clear understanding and adopt prudent processes:

Review is a bottom - line, not an optionBoth the false claim about cheese consumption and the absurd “peanuts growing on trees” incident exposed the lack of a human review process. Factual and common - sense accuracy is the first insurmountable red line for AI - generated content and a bottom - line that professional marketers must firmly uphold.

AI is a tool; practitioners must improve their aesthetic tasteAI is a powerful auxiliary tool at this stage. Instead of relying on it for all copy and creative work, practitioners should think about how to make the most of this tool. Moreover, while using AI to improve efficiency, they should enhance their professional aesthetic sense and judgment to fundamentally eliminate shoddy and weird materials. This is not only a respect for users but also a reverence for the profession itself.

Brands should cherish brand trust and be wary of “hidden costs”Undoubtedly, the core goal of brands embracing AI is to cut costs and boost efficiency. However, using shoddy promotional materials to pursue this goal will not only weaken brand favorability but also increase the “hidden costs” of brand trust. Technology should serve the long - term relationship between brands and users, and any “shortcut” that harms user experience and brand favorability will turn out to be the most costly detour on the brand’s development path.

Of course, many excellent cases of AI application have emerged in the industry over the past year. In the next article, TOP Jun will sort out those cases that have used AI to “break new ground.”