The fast-food giant said during the company’s Investor Day presentation Sept. 23 that it is launching the McDonald’s Media Network, a new advertising business that will allow other companies to place ads across McDonald’s digital platforms and restaurant screens.
McDonald’s began testing the idea in August 2026 at 450 company-owned U.S. restaurants, the chain said during the presentation. This does not include franchisees which are independently owned and operated.
The pilot features advertising from other companies on digital drive-thru menu boards after customers place their orders.
Between this, dynamic pricing, and the god awful food and service, there is no reason to keep eating this trash.
I went vegetarian almost fifteen years ago and aside from a brief stint of working there out of desperation, I’ve had no reason to go in one because there’s nothing there I can eat (no McPlant in the US). I don’t miss it. At all. And from everything I’ve heard their food has only gotten worse in that time.
No, there is no reason to be eating that trash, that hot candy masquerading as food. And yet people will continue to do so, because they are addicted to it. That word carries a lot of stigma, but it’s the fact.
No, I won’t. I don’t eat that crap.
Same here. But I’m afraid, things like and AI pricing will spread.
Let’s boycott them all very loudly at the onset.
If restaurants follow suit (seems like Asian restaurants usually go the trch route) you can kindly leave feedback to the owners (if it’s locally owned). They’re people after all
Urrgh! Doesn’t it feel exhausting that they want to extract more and more from you, including your attention whilst you’re browsing the menu.
If you stop supporting unnecessary animal suffering you cut out a lot of unethical businesses like this from the start. I haven’t eaten there in years and wouldn’t bother if it were free.
In a world where every fast food joint is vegan, this would still happen. I’m not pro meat, I just don’t like equating unrelated things. As soon as meat substitutes become profitable and marketable enough, McDs will switch to them. And they will continue to extract as much profit as they can.
You aren’t incorrect. We don’t have other good options though. There may be plant based options that work, but we don’t have access to them well.
I don’t eat fast food though, fuck McDonald, I fucking hate cllowns.
Ignoring McDonald’s entirely, what chain restaurant doesn’t have meat on the menu?
You cut out a lot of unethical businesses.
There is Slutty Vegan as one I’m aware of because of the memorable name. Only a few locations but spread out.
I assume there aren’t many vegan/vegetarian chains with a lot of locations because I couldn’t find any with more than a dozen locstions, but they do exist.
Note: I eat meat and also enjoy a lot of meatless meals.
Its already annoying enough that the menu changes as you’re looking at it.
nope, fuck McDonald’s!
I don’t know why anyone fucks with fast food these days. It’s expensive and mediocre. Plenty of local restaurants with better food in most towns.
I do go to fast-food once in a while, but in my experience McDonald’s is really the worst of them, mediocre is too generous. Not any cheaper for basically cardboard.
There is a mexican food truck that will give me two meals worth of food for $10. I haven’t eaten “fast” food in a long time, but I live in the city. There is an indian grocery store that sells samosas, as well as other items, hot and ready.
I would rather hit a Quick Trip or Circle K before I would touch McDonald’s or any YUM! brand, basically any fast food or chain. And I am still not keen on gas station food. I eat from locally owned if I eat out, usually. (grabbing food while going on site at work will cause me to make exceptions: still won’t do McDonald’s. I have done Arby’s if they have a good deal, or Subway has a good meal of the day).
That truck is probably faster than McDonald’s too
Chipotle is stellar if something prepared and warm is needed and you have a fridge+microwave where you’re staying. Ask for extra beans and rice, get a bunch of salsa (and a cup on the side) and a pack of cheap tortillas from another store. You can get four or more meals at 300-400cal each from one bowl, more if you have some cheap chips and salsa with it!
If you have a stove and lettuce, you can really “fancy” it up—plop two spoonfuls of bowl stuff on a tortilla, wrap it up tight, and shallow fry each side until brown. Mmmmmm
At that point why not just buy all the ingredients
Because your hotel room doesn’t have the means to prepare those ingredients. Or you’re homeless and only have access to a fridge and microwave, if you’re lucky. Or your shit is broken. I did say “if something prepared and warm is needed,” which kinda disqualifies buying all the ingredients and making it yourself.
Bring a hot plate and a pot. Viola! You can cook in hotel.
Yeah that’s a thing anyone ever does ever. Brilliant.
The price went up. It’s not expensive comparatively. Certainly not compared to the imaginary local food that’s magically avoiding cost increases.
The hell it’s not. I can get a lot of food for the price of a mcshit meal.
Show me. Where are you getting an equivalent burger for cheaper?
Dary queen.
I’m not saying local is cheaper per say - I’m saying local is now comparably priced for better food. I can eat at good diner for the same price as McDonald’s now. The point of fast food was always cheap and fast over quality. Now all it offers is fast and even that is not a given. It’s just not worth it anymore.
With Sysco, everyone serves same microwaved crap
Haha. ‘Next time’.
Don’t you have enough fucking money, McDonald’s?
iNfInItE gRoWtH! eXpAnD oR die!
Late stage capitalism sucks
Everything we do, is going to be an advertisement.
Not if the companies that implement this suffer financially. I had already stopped going to McDonalds for other reasons, but this is just another reason to avoid it.
So they have a financial benefit now in slowing down food delivery times?
I guess they do now.
I refuse to believe that making every single drive through order pull up and park makes the experience better for anyone. It’s about artificially driving down wait time metrics by making us wait more inconveniently for everyone. Nonetheless, I’m sure they will be happy to install ad screens in their numbered parking spots.
Just stop doing it.
“Nah, I’ll wait” is a perfectly valid response.
Has McDonald’s everywhere been converted to cooking the food by order instead of pre-making a bunch of food, or is it just where I live?
I like their food these days, tastes pretty good. 🤷♂️ Complete overhaul of freshness, main ingredients. High quality IMO, much better than Burger King where I live, e.g.
GTFO.
Am I to understand from this message that you have a differing opinion? 😆
I think you may just be lucky. The McD’s in my area are still just as awful as they’ve always been.
Must be so.
Also people are really passionate about hating McD to the point of down voting due to an opinion and circumstance. 😆 Bless these souls.
I think franchisees have a lot of leeway as to how things are run, down to some of the suppliers. It makes sense to me that it varies by location. The downside is that if I’m used to it being bad (which I am) then it taints every other location for me. I don’t know whether McDs or Sonic is going to be ok versus awful and I pay the same either way so if I have literally any other choice I’m not going to gamble on it.
Quite understandable. I rarely gamble with ordering food. If I’m paying money for someone to cook me something to eat, I want to know that I’ll like it.
Cooked to order at my spot. It’s a great meal for $14 and despite the screeching here it’s actually much less expensive than pretty much everywhere.
Yeah, it’s not at all bad food IMO. Burger King by comparison is shit, where I live. I actually like the fries at McDonald’s nowadays, since they started cooking to order.
You can’t be a real person, claiming the donald is better than anything.
It might not be that way where you live, but in my town, and in MY opinion, McDonald’s tastes better than Burger King. We have 1 MD and 1 BK. Not too much to go on statistics wise, but oh well.
But out of all the large fast food franchises in my town, the single Burger King is probably the worst one to get a burger at here, ngl. We have a very popular local, national burger joint franchise which is close to 60 years old now. That one trumps BK and MD by a mile.
But of course, just go to any truly local spots that do smash burgers and you’ll beat the big ones by a parsec. So good.
Pigshit.
What uh, are you saying? Burgers are pigshit?
They’re just very very very upset and lashing out because people don’t agree with their worldview.
Is pretty fucking good for a 30 second wait and $14🤣. I’m fully aware I can grind my own beef and make a better burger at home or spend more money.
I spend exactly 5 seconds at that screen. I’m not going to lose my shit.
McSellout is going to be a banger.
I’ve recently been to Five Guys for the first time and holy fuck, it was so much better than anything I’ve ever eaten at McDanooj. I’d say it’s about as good as fast food can get even.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s still slop, but it’s damn good slop.
Yeah, but they pay their workers worse than McDonald’s.
They do? That’s a shame
Can’t fleece us enough with stupidly-expensive junk food, now they’re also cramming advertising down our howling pie hole
I can’t remember the last time I ate at McDonald’s. It’s been twenty years or more.
