McDonald’s tests ads from other brands on digital drive-thru menu boards

• The ads only appear after a customer has ordered, during the short wait before the car pulls forward.
• McDonald’s says the pilot is about post-purchase content that can be useful, relevant, or interesting, while keeping the McDonald’s experience front and center.

What happened

Kotaku reported, based on Bloomberg, that McDonald’s is running a test with ads from other brands on digital menu boards at drive-thru locations. According to the reporting, the trial is limited to select company-owned restaurants and does not apply to the full network. The supplied information also mentions a broader base of thousands of restaurants already using digital menu boards, but this pilot remains explicitly limited to a selection of owned locations.

The ads are said to appear only after a customer has placed an order. They then show up during the brief wait before the car moves forward to the next point in the drive-thru. Kotaku describes that timing as the moment between ordering and pulling ahead, so it is not advertising that appears before the order is completed.

A McDonald’s spokesperson told Bloomberg that the pilot is meant to show post-purchase content that customers may find useful, relevant, or interesting, while keeping the core McDonald’s experience central. Kotaku also frames the test as a possible way to generate extra revenue, but that is editorial interpretation rather than a company statement. The available information does not name any specific brands taking part in the trial, and no exact number of participating restaurants has been confirmed.

The reporting also does not say whether the pilot is running only in the United States or is being tested in other markets as well. It is likewise unclear when, or if, the pilot will expand to other company-owned locations. Because this is still a test, the details could change before any broader rollout.

Background

McDonald’s already uses digital menu boards at many locations, and the supplied information refers to thousands of restaurants as a broader base for that technology. However, the current pilot is explicitly limited to a selection of owned locations. That makes the test different from a general change across the entire drive-thru network.

The sources do not name any specific brands appearing in the test and do not provide an exact number of participating restaurants. It is also unclear whether the pilot is only running in the United States or is being tested in other markets. That distinction matters, because the reporting only refers to select company-owned restaurants and not franchise locations or a global rollout.

Kotaku links the test to a broader commercial trend in which digital screens in retail and fast food are increasingly used for extra content. In the supplied information, that is not presented as an official McDonald’s position, but as journalistic framing of the possible revenue angle of the pilot. The only direct company statement in the available text is that McDonald’s wants to keep the McDonald’s experience central and that the content may be useful, relevant, or interesting for customers.

Because the pilot is still ongoing, several questions remain open. The reporting gives no date for a possible expansion, no list of advertisers, and no confirmation of the exact markets where the test is taking place. It is also not stated whether the ads appear on all digital drive-thru screens or only on specific menu boards within the selected restaurants.

Related GAME-scanner articles

• McDonald’s tests ads from other brands on digital menu screens in select restaurants

Sources

• Kotaku: "McDonald’s Cramming Ads For Other Brands Into The Drive-Thru While You Wait To Pull Forward" — 23 September 2026
• Bloomberg, as cited by Kotaku
• McDonald’s spokesperson, as cited by Bloomberg and relayed by Kotaku