McDonald's jumps on Studio Ghibli AI trend (and gets absolutely destroyed)

McDonald's Mexico is in the spotlight after unwisely jumping on an AI art trend that's got everyone talking. Last week, everyone was using AI to make Studio Ghibli-style memes out of well known images – with the boundaries between good and poor taste blurred in many cases (I'm looking at you, whoever made the one of the Twin Towers). Given Studio Ghibli founder Hayao Miyazaki famously hates AI art generation, the whole thing was on shaky ground from the start. Add to that the sheer number of people that got involved, and the types of images that were being published and you've got a perfect storm.

The Mexican branch of McDonald's created its own Studio Ghibli-style memes and shared them on social media, which though not as shocking as others in content was still a bad move. Using Studio Ghibli's signature style to advertise without permission is not a good look for a global fast food giant. Not every trend needs to be jumped on – maybe the social media team should have used the best digital art software to make something more reputable.

The post on McDonald's Facebook, which shows a family and individuals enjoying McDonald's food (see it above) has gathered hundreds of disparaging comments calling the chain out for stealing Studio Ghibli's IP, and for using AI to create art. "What happened McDonald's? isn't it enough to pay a real artist?" asks one user. "Unbelievable, one thing is one person uses it but a multi billion dollar company?" reflects another.

"I hope you get sued," one comment says, leading to a debate underneath about whether you can sue someone for basing AI work on your artstyle. This is possibly one of the most important debates around at the moment as many artists' works are being emulated via AI art generators – and whether you're protected depends on which country you're in. IN the EU/UK, copyright protects art but not style. If an artist can prove an AI model was trained on their artwork then copyright could kick in.

Nonetheless, this Facebook post is in bad taste for a huge corporation. Surprisingly, after being published a couple of days ago the post is still live on Facebook. This is even after huge amounts of publicity surrounding the Studio Ghibli trend and the overwhelmingly negative response.

McDonald's Japan and Studio Ghibli have collaborated in the past, with the Kiki's Delivery Service-themed campaign last year so seeing McDonald's in this style is not unprecedented. However, with no permission and the use of AI, it's hard to see how a positive relationship could be forged between the Mexican branch of McDonald's and Studio Ghibli.

Elsewhere in the news, Duolingo has released a very different social media campaign that has gone very well indeed.