McDonald'sA wise man once asked, "War (Huh! Yeah! Good god!) What is it good for?" And answered his own question, "Absolutely nothing (sing it again, y'aaaaall)." That is true: Unless it's a breakfast war. Then we all get FREE COFFEE!
For two weeks, McDonald's is giving away free cups of 12-ounce McCafé coffee as part of the "first-ever national Free Coffee Event." Mickey D's explains, "This event is McDonald's way of encouraging new guests to try McCafé…while giving our breakfast lovers even more reason to enjoy the great taste of our signature blend."
Business Insider speculates that the promo may have to do with McDonald's putting McCafés in retail stores. Others suspect it's all-out breakfast war: The promotion kicks off today, March 31, and runs until April 31, which just happens to coincide with the launch of Taco Bell's new (and much buzzed-about) breakfast menu.
"We just launched the next generation of breakfast—it's not a two-week promotion. Clearly, our competition is taking notice and reacting," Taco Bell called McDonald's out in a statement.
The free-coffee gimmick is just the latest shots fired in an ongoing battle between the fast food powerhouses. Taco Bell poked the breakfast bear (Ronald McDonald and his precious McMuffin) with this commercial:
Guess who loves Taco Bell's new breakfast. #WakeUpLiveMás http://t.co/CIKjOvnhXL
? Taco Bell (@TacoBell) March 27, 2014To which McDonald's then responded with this tweet:
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. pic.twitter.com/e0dFN1ZCqy
? McDonald's (@McDonalds) March 29, 2014To which Taco Bell then responded with this Instagram:
Social media! How amazing is it that two mega-million dollar corporations can feud with each other in 140 characters or less while the world watches on? We are truly living in the future.