Your Drive-Thru Wait Just Got Worse: McDonald’s Adds Third-Party Ads to Menu Boards
If you are already waiting for your McDonald’s order, the drive-thru screen may soon show something else besides your order and the menu. McDonald’s is testing advertisements from outside companies on digital drive-thru screens at about 450 company-owned U.S. restaurants.
The test began in August and is part of the chain’s plan to build the McDonald’s Media Network, a new advertising business. The important catch is that the ads appear after customers place their orders, so there is no indication that diners have to sit through a commercial before ordering.
Your drive-thru screen is becoming an advertising space
gekaskr via 123rf photos
The change is pretty simple. After a customer places an order, the digital menu board can switch from McDonald’s content to an advertisement for another company.
That makes the test different from McDonald’s usual promotions for burgers, fries, drinks, or limited-time menu items. The screen is being used to sell advertising space to businesses outside the restaurant.
McDonald’s described the initiative as a limited pilot exploring “post-purchase content” that customers may find helpful, relevant, or interesting.
For someone sitting in the drive-thru waiting for an order, that could mean the screen in front of the car is no longer simply part of the ordering process. It can also become a small digital billboard.
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The ads come after you order
This is the detail that makes the headline worth qualifying.
The test does not mean McDonald’s has inserted an advertisement that customers must watch before placing an order. The ads are designed to appear after the purchase has been made, while the customer is still at the restaurant.
So while the experience is changing, the advertising itself hasn’t been shown to add time to ordering or food preparation.
That distinction matters. The new program changes what customers may see while waiting, but it does not establish that the wait itself has become longer.
Why McDonald’s wants to sell ads
There is a much bigger business idea behind those screens.
McDonald’s is developing the McDonald’s Media Network to generate advertising revenue across its system. During the company’s September 23 Investor Day, global chief marketing officer and executive vice president of new business ventures Morgan Flatley discussed the opportunity and said the network could eventually become a $1 billion business.
For McDonald’s, the appeal is straightforward. The company already has digital screens and a large customer base, so that advertising can turn existing restaurant technology into another source of revenue.
Flatley described the opportunity as one with little additional cost, no operational complexity, and no disruption to the customer experience. That is the company’s goal for the program, rather than a guarantee of how every customer will experience it.
Only some McDonald’s restaurants are testing it
The rollout is much smaller than a nationwide change.
The current pilot covers about 450 company-owned U.S. restaurants. Franchise-operated restaurants are not part of the test described by McDonald’s at Investor Day.
That means customers should not expect every McDonald’s drive-thru to suddenly feature outside advertisements.
One restaurant could have the new advertising screens while another location continues using its digital menu boards in the familiar way. The broader McDonald’s Media Network could eventually expand beyond the current test, but the company has not turned the pilot into a systemwide drive-thru change.
What might customers see?
McDonald’s has not provided a universal list of advertisements that customers will encounter at participating restaurants.
The test is specifically about advertising from other businesses, rather than simply filling the screen with another McDonald’s promotion. The company has demonstrated the concept during its Investor Day presentation, showing how an outside brand could appear on a drive-thru menu board.
The broader media strategy could eventually extend to other digital platforms and screens across McDonald’s restaurants, but the current drive-thru test is the clearest example of how the company is putting the idea into practice.
Is this really making the wait worse?
That depends on what you mean by “worse.”
If you mean customers will now see advertising while waiting for their food, that is the change McDonald’s is testing. If you mean the food will take longer to arrive because of the advertisements, that has not been established.
The company says the pilot is designed around post-purchase content and maintaining the customer experience. There is also no indication that customers have to interact with the ads before their orders can move forward.
For now, the bigger story is not a slower drive-thru. It is McDonald’s turning a familiar part of the restaurant into a new piece of advertising real estate.
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The bigger change could come later
The 450-restaurant test is only one part of McDonald’s larger media strategy. The company hopes to build the network into a significant business, with the $1 billion goal showing how seriously it views advertising as a potential revenue stream.
Whether the program expands across more company-owned restaurants or eventually reaches franchise locations remains to be seen. For customers, though, the first change is much simpler: at some McDonald’s drive-thrus, the screen in front of you may now have something to sell after it has finished taking your order.
So yes, your next drive-thru wait could come with an advertisement. Just do not confuse a new commercial with a proven longer wait.
