McDonald's and other chains are spending big on splashy meal deal ads

It’s the summer of meal deals – and fast food giants like McDonald’s and Burger King are going tit-for-tat on bargains.

Their efforts to get diners to make burger runs again also means they’ve had to spend quite a bit of money on marketing (say a few million) to reach them.

So far, McDonald’s has spent roughly $8.4 million on promoting the bundle, according to TV and streaming advertising firm iSpot, which provided data to Quartz.

Notably, the chain aired two national ads promoting the $5 meal deal – one in English and one in Spanish. Taking into account other promotions, McDonald’s has spent roughly $13.1 million on TV ads.

The firm’s data looks at a timeline of June 25-July 21, when other rival chains also had similar campaigns for $5 deals.

Let’s take a look at the estimated amount some chains spent on their respective promotions, including the amount of TV impressions their spot garnered during that window.