The menu boards at McDonald's have always been in the business of selling — Quarter Pounders, McFlurries, the occasional McRib when the stars align. Now they may be selling something else entirely: other people's products.

McDonald's has begun testing advertisements from third-party brands on the digital menu screens inside its restaurants, according to people familiar with the matter, in what would represent the company's entry into the retail media business that has proved so lucrative for retailers like Walmart and Amazon.

The trial, which is being conducted in a limited number of locations, would transform the screens that hang above the counter from a delivery mechanism for combo meal photography into something closer to billboards — ones with a captive audience of customers who have already committed to standing in line. (Whether those customers came for a Big Mac or a pitch for auto insurance remains to be seen.)

The move comes as retail media networks have become one of the fastest-growing segments of the advertising industry, with retailers from Target to Kroger building substantial businesses selling access to their customers at or near the point of purchase. McDonald's, which operates or franchises more than 40,000 restaurants worldwide and serves an estimated 69 million customers daily, would bring considerable scale to the endeavor.

For the quick-service restaurant industry, which has spent decades refining the science of the menu board — the placement of items, the photography of cheese, the strategic deployment of the word "limited" — the addition of third-party advertising represents something of a philosophical shift. The screens were designed to sell more McDonald's. Now they may be asked to sell more of everything else, too.

A spokeswoman for McDonald's declined to comment on the specifics of the test.

The golden arches, it seems, are open for business in more ways than one.

Original story published in campaignlive.com: "McDonald's starts testing ads from other brands on its restaurant menu screens | Campaign US"