BAD AI: Terrible McChristmas

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This week:

😱 Bad AI: Terrible McChristmas

🔥 AI Offer: Marketing AI Lunch & Learn

✨ AI Creative: GPT Image 1.5

💭 Dev Update: Gemini Flash 3

💡 News, Trends & Insights

BAD AI: Terrible McChristmas

Ah, it's nearly Christmas. The most wonderful time of the year.

You feeling the vibe? Am I f*ck. It's dark at 1.15pm, everyone's got noro-flu, my Christmas party ended with me being suspended again, and Mariah f*cking Carey has got me in a month-long aural death-hold.

You need cheering up. I do. What've you got?

McDonald's Netherlands launched a lovely festive AI ad. Excellent, can I see it?

No. They deleted it, due to its slightly 'mixed' reception. Tell me more.

OK then, it's called 'The Most Terrible Time Of The Year (really). Santa got into a road rage incident, a teddy bear got semi-decapitated in a toy store*, and someone got dragged along tram tracks after getting their pressies stuck in the door. (*Directionally correct)

Ooh, tasty. Sounds like my sort of promo, are you sure I can't see it?

Yes, it's definitely not available anywhere.

*With that slice of loveliness, have a very merry Christmas, dear readers - we'll see you on the other side for more skewering of Bad AI practice, trends, insights and more!

FREE LEARNING: AI Lunch & Learn Session

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Just reply to this email with 'Lunch' to set up a session for up to 20 of your team.

AI CREATIVE: GPT Image 1.5

OpenAI has launched ChatGPT Images to make image generation and retouching faster, more accurate and context-aware, straight from the chat interface.

What you need to know:

• Upgraded image model: ChatGPT Images is powered by OpenAI's latest flagship model (GPT Image 1.5), apparently delivering up to 4× faster generation (still seems quite slow when we tested it).
• Integrated creative workspace: A new Images tab inside ChatGPT provides presets, filters and trending ideas so users can start visual projects without prompts.
• Better edits on uploaded photos: You can fine-tune uploaded photos - change backgrounds, styles, composition, and keep faces/objects consistent across iterations.
• APIs and business roll-out: The model is also rolling out via API for developers as of now.

What it means for businesses:
Faster iteration and conversational control over visuals mean smaller teams can prototype like larger ones, and enterprise workflows can embed image creation directly into conversational briefs.

Wider context:
The upgrade is part of OpenAI's response to surging competition in AI imagery - notably Google's Nano Banana - pressuring generative platforms to turn image tools into full creative environments rather than single-shot generators.

If you want to map where these new AI-powered creative workflows fit into your stack or how to redesign briefing, production and content ops around them, talk to us.

AI MODELS: Gemini 3 Flash

Google has rolled out Gemini 3 Flash as the new default model across the Gemini app and Search's AI Mode - it's faster and cheaper.

The details:

• Speed-first frontier model: It's designed to prioritise latency and throughput while retaining near-top-tier reasoning and multimodal performance.
• Big jump over previous Flash: Internal and third-party evaluations show Flash outperforms earlier lightweight Gemini models, closing much of the gap with Gemini 3 Pro (while running faster and at a fraction of the cost).
• Strong benchmark showing: On broad reasoning tests like Humanity's Last Exam, Flash posts results in the low-to-mid 30% range (this is good).
• Now everywhere by default: Google has made 3 Flash the standard model in both the Gemini consumer app and Search's AI Mode, blending live web results with faster reasoning.

What it means for businesses:

Google is betting that most real-world value comes from models that are fast enough, smart enough, and cheap enough to be used constantly - in search, productivity tools, customer support, and internal workflows. If near frontier-adjacent intelligence becomes the default, others charging premium prices for similar performance start to look exposed. Smart.

Wider context:

By baking Gemini 3 Flash into Search and the Gemini app, Google is normalising high-end AI as infrastructure, not a feature you opt into. Once users and developers adapt to that speed-and-cost baseline, switching becomes less about quality and more about habit.

What's New - News, Insights & Trends

>> ChatGPT adult mode is coming

>> Alexa is on the web (do we care?)

>> What's the word of the year?

>> World's smallest AI supercomputer

>> Job hunting in the AI age

FAQ: What happened with McDonald's AI Christmas ad?

McDonald's Netherlands launched an AI-generated Christmas ad called 'The Most Terrible Time Of The Year' which featured Santa in a road rage incident, a teddy bear being semi-decapitated in a toy store, and someone getting dragged along tram tracks. The ad was deleted following significant social media backlash.

FAQ: Why did McDonald's delete their AI Christmas ad?

McDonald's Netherlands deleted their AI-generated Christmas ad due to a 'mixed reception' on social media. The ad's dark humour - featuring chaotic holiday mishaps like road rage and accidents - didn't land well with audiences expecting traditional festive messaging from the brand.

FAQ: What is GPT Image 1.5 and ChatGPT Images?

GPT Image 1.5 is OpenAI's latest flagship image model powering the new ChatGPT Images feature. It delivers up to 4x faster image generation, includes an integrated creative workspace with presets and filters, offers better editing of uploaded photos, and is available via API for developers.

FAQ: How do you use ChatGPT Images?

ChatGPT Images is accessible through a new Images tab inside ChatGPT. Users can start visual projects using presets, filters and trending ideas without writing prompts, or use conversational instructions. You can upload photos and fine-tune backgrounds, styles, and composition while keeping faces and objects consistent across iterations.

FAQ: What is Gemini 3 Flash?

Gemini 3 Flash is Google's new speed-first frontier model designed to prioritise latency and throughput while retaining near-top-tier reasoning and multimodal performance. It significantly outperforms earlier lightweight Gemini models and closes much of the gap with Gemini 3 Pro while running faster and at a fraction of the cost.

FAQ: Where is Gemini 3 Flash available?

Google has made Gemini 3 Flash the default model in both the Gemini consumer app and Google Search's AI Mode. This means users get faster reasoning combined with live web results as the standard experience across Google's AI products.

FAQ: How does GPT Image 1.5 benefit businesses?

GPT Image 1.5 enables faster iteration and conversational control over visuals, meaning smaller teams can prototype like larger ones. Enterprise workflows can embed image creation directly into conversational briefs, reducing handoffs between briefing, creation and review stages.

FAQ: What is Google's strategy with Gemini 3 Flash pricing?

Google is betting that most real-world value comes from models that are fast enough, smart enough, and cheap enough to be used constantly. By making near frontier-adjacent intelligence the default, Google puts pressure on competitors charging premium prices for similar performance, normalising high-end AI as infrastructure rather than a premium feature.

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