McDonald's tests drive-thru ad network in 450 U.S. restaurants

In August, McDonald’s started a pilot program that inserts external advertisers’ messages onto drive-thru menu boards after orders are placed, initially covering 450 company-owned restaurants in the United States. Brands like insurer Geico are already featured, while the franchise-run majority of the chain’s roughly 14,000 U.S. outlets are not part of the test. The initiative was unveiled by chief marketing officer Morgan Flatley, who heads the new business ventures unit, during the company’s investor day in Chicago.

Flatley said the venture targets the fast-growing commerce-media sector, which analysts expect to exceed $100 billion in the U.S. by 2028, and could eventually generate $1 billion in revenue with minimal operational impact. CFO Ian Borden stressed McDonald’s unique scale, serving about 85 % of the U.S. population each year and operating in every community, which makes the ad platform attractive to marketers. The network is planned to expand beyond drive-thru screens to the McDonald’s app, self-order kiosks, and other digital displays, using data from its loyalty program of over 220 million members to deliver targeted promotions. The move aligns McDonald’s with retailers such as Amazon and Walmart that have built sizable advertising businesses around customer data.