AI advertising that doesn't look fake: protect trust
By Kas Bennemeer, creative director at Setless Productions
14 October 2026
AI advertising looks fake when the product is wrong, characters change from shot to shot, light and movement feel unnatural or unreadable text appears on screen. You do not fix that with a better prompt. You fix it with direction: a clear concept, a hero shot as the reference, deliberate choices on light and lens, and quality control on every shot. Consumers are critical of AI in advertising. An ad that looks real earns that trust back.
Below you will find why trust is the biggest risk, what McDonald's and Coca-Cola show and which points decide whether AI ads convince.
How consumers see AI advertising
The Dutch are far from enthusiastic about AI in advertising. Research by Norstat (October 2025, n=1,020) found that 44% of people in the Netherlands disapprove of AI in advertising. Among those over 60, it is 53%. At the same time, just over half of young people say they find it hard to spot AI in images.
Taken together, those figures say a lot. People have a negative view of AI advertising, yet they often fail to spot well-made AI images. The resistance is aimed mainly at AI that stands out because it is badly made. That is where your risk as a brand lies.
AI generated ads on TV: lessons from McDonald's and Coca-Cola
Two major brands showed in 2025 how it can go wrong.
McDonald's Netherlands pulled an AI Christmas commercial in December 2025 after criticism. The debate was not about whether AI is allowed, but about how the ad looked and what it did to the brand.
Coca-Cola made its well-known Holidays Are Coming campaign with AI in 2025. A traditional production of that scale is estimated at millions of dollars. Critics focused on its artificial look: it looked festive, but did not feel real.
The lesson for your brand: AI is not the problem. An ad that looks unfinished or unreal is. The bigger the brand, the louder the criticism. Smaller brands get less public attention, but they still lose trust with every customer who drops off.
How people spot poor AI ad quality
People recognise a weak AI ad by a handful of signals:
- The product is wrong: a logo that is slightly off, packaging text that shifts.
- Characters have a different face, hair or outfit in every shot.
- Light comes from a direction that does not match the setting.
- Movement is too smooth, too slow or defies gravity.
- There is text on screen that makes no sense.
- Editing without rhythm, shots that do not connect.
Each of these signals breaks trust. One mistake is enough to make the whole ad feel fake.
What makes AI ads look real
These are the points I direct on every production.
Product accuracy
Your product has to match the real product exactly: logo, text, packaging, colour and proportions. A customer who sees your product in a shop or at home must recognise it. If it differs, the ad feels misleading.
Consistent characters and locations
A character must be the same person in every shot. A location must be the same space in every shot. That is why I always generate a hero shot first and use it as the reference for every following shot.
Deliberate light and lens
Real images have a light source and a lens. For every shot I choose the light direction, time of day, focal length and depth of field. That is the difference between an image that looks photographed and one that looks generated.
Movement and physics
Liquid has to flow like liquid, fabric has to fall like fabric, a hand has to pick up a product with weight. Movement that is slightly off stands out straight away. I keep movements short and clear and reject anything that does not look natural.
Sound
Sound decides a large part of how real something feels. Sound design, music and voice-over must fit what you see. A silent or badly mixed ad feels cheap, however good the picture is.
No unreadable text
Text inside generated images often comes out garbled. I keep frames free of generated text and add brand name, claims and CTA cleanly in the edit.
Editing and pace
A commercial is more than a set of shots. The rhythm of the edit, the build from hook to product to CTA and the transitions between shots decide whether it feels like one story.
Quality control per shot
Every shot is checked on its own before it goes into the edit. Anything that is off, I remake. Better fewer shots that all hold up than many shots with one that fails.
Checklist: does your AI ad look real?
Use this checklist on every AI ad before it goes live.
| Point | Question | Good when |
|---|---|---|
| Product | Is the product exactly right? | Logo, text, packaging and colour match the real product |
| Characters | Is it the same person in every shot? | Face, hair, clothing and build stay the same |
| Location | Is it the same space in every shot? | Furniture, colours and light match |
| Light | Is there a logical light source? | Shadows and reflections fit the setting |
| Lens | Does the lens suit the shot? | Depth of field and perspective feel photographed |
| Movement | Does everything move naturally? | Weight, speed and gravity are right |
| Sound | Does the sound fit the picture? | Sound design and music support what you see |
| Text | Is there unreadable text on screen? | All text is added in the edit |
| Editing | Does it feel like one story? | Hook, product and CTA follow logically |
| Control | Was every shot checked on its own? | Weak shots have been remade |
Consumers and AI ads: direction is the answer
Criticism of AI advertising is rarely about the technology itself. It is about a lack of direction. An ad without a concept, without control over the product and without attention to light, movement and sound looks fake. An ad where someone makes every choice deliberately does not.
That is the difference between content that costs trust and content that sells. The craft of a creative director, combined with new production techniques, delivers images your customer sees as your brand, not as an experiment.
How Setless solves this
I make AI commercials and product visuals with a fixed process: concept first, hero shot as the reference, stills for validation, then animation, editing and sound. Every shot goes through quality control on product, character, light and movement.
See how I work on AI commercial production and AI product photography, or read more about me. Want to see your own product? Request a free sample.
Frequently asked questions
Why do AI ads often look fake? Usually because the product is wrong, characters change between shots, light or movement is unnatural, or there is unreadable text. Those are direction errors, not limits of AI itself.
How many people disapprove of AI in advertising? According to Norstat (October 2025), 44% of people in the Netherlands disapprove of AI in advertising, rising to 53% among those over 60. Just over half of young people find it hard to spot AI in images.
Why did McDonald's pull its AI Christmas commercial? McDonald's Netherlands took the commercial offline in December 2025 after criticism of how it looked and what it did to the brand.
Can AI generated ads look real enough not to be spotted? Yes, when product, characters, light, movement and sound are right. That takes direction on every shot and quality control before anything goes live.
Will my product stay exactly the same in an AI commercial? Yes. Product accuracy is the first check on every shot. Logo, text and packaging must match the real product exactly.
How can I test whether an AI ad suits my brand? Request a free sample. You send one product photo and see how your product looks before you choose a package.