If you haven’t had your morning coffee yet, this message might not even be entering your brain in any way that makes sense. But for those of you who are functioning, that daily cup of joe could be free, if you like McDonald’s brew: The fast food chain is offering a free small coffee during breakfast hours starting today and going through Sept. 29.

The offer is good at all participating McDonald’s locations in the U.S., notes the Chicago Tribune, which means your local restaurant might not be one of those participating. If you’re not sure, just call before you go instead of having to face inevitable disappointment and caffeine delay.

This is Mickey D’s second java giveaway this year, after pulling a similar stunt in March that also gave away gratis coffee for two weeks.

So what does McDonald’s get out of it? It gets to steer morning customers back through its doors for breakfast, drawn by the lure of that stimulating mistress, coffee, instead of losing the breakfast crowd to places like Taco Bell and its ongoing efforts to rule the morning roost.

The promotion also wraps another promotion into it, a “sip and tell” effort that urges customers to share the wacky/embarrassing things that have happened to them before that first sip of coffee — all on social media, of course. Certain customers will then win free stuff.

It’s also likely a publicity push for McDonald’s efforts to bring its McCafe brand bagged coffee to grocery stores in the coming months.

And because when you want people to like you, give them free caffeine in the morning, that’s what my Uncle Gerald always said.

McDonald’s offering free morning coffee for 2 weeks [Chicago Tribune]

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