McDonald's Trusts You Won't Be Taking Advantage Of Its Free Coffee Promotion

As it continues to shake up its menu, McDonald's recently announced a re-branding for its McCafé coffee and drinks. Over the rest of this upcoming week, the chain will look to spread the word through the assumed benevolence of total strangers, by way of a reusable free coffee card.

Starting Wednesday, August 21, and lasting through Thursday and Friday, McDonald's will selectively release 500 "McCafé It Forward" cards around the U.S., good for a free small cup of coffee. Each of the cards (initially given to "coffee lovers or individuals known for demonstrating kindness in their communities") will then hopefully be passed on to someone else, who will collect their own free coffee and pass it on in turn.

While some will undoubtedly meet an offer like this with skepticism, as there will always be those who'll just steal the free thing because they can, we'll hope that the program is used as intended. In a statement to Nation's Restaurant News about the offer, McDonald's affirms that "We believe in the goodness of our customers, and we're hoping to serve a lot of McCafé coffee as a result of customers passing along the McCafé It Forward cards." It's always good advice to be kind to strangers, but for the next few days, that kindness could also be rewarded with caffeine.