McDonald's to Give Away Free Vanilla Soft Serve for All -- And a Special Golden Opportunity for One

On July 16th, National Ice Cream Day, One Lucky Fan Will Win the "Golden Arches Cone" -- And Soft Serve for Life

OAK BROOK, IL--(Marketwired - Jul 11, 2017) - In celebration of National Ice Cream Day on July 16, McDonald's USA (NYSE: MCD) is celebrating its iconic vanilla soft serve -- made with no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives -- by treating fans in two ways: at participating restaurants nationwide, free vanilla cones will be offered all day long through the McDonald's app and one lucky guest will have the chance to win free soft serve for life.

Guests wishing to enjoy a free Vanilla Cone need only download the McDonald's mobile app and redeem the Free Vanilla Cone offer on July 16 to enjoy this delicious cold treat. One guest -- and one guest only -- will receive a special "Golden Arches Cone," an exclusive, limited edition cone that entitles the winner to McDonald's soft serve for life. For a chance to win the Golden Arches Cone, soft serve enthusiasts must redeem the Free Vanilla Cone offer in the mobile app on July 16 between 2pm and 5pm local time*.

In May of this year, McDonald's unveiled a sweet surprise -- that its soft serve is made with no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. McDonald's started the switch in Fall of 2016 but announced it once nearly all of its 14,000+ restaurants nationwide were offering the new treat. This joined other changes McDonald's has made, such as removing artificial preservatives from McNuggets, committing to cage-free eggs by 2025 in the U.S. and Canada, and only serving chicken made from chickens not treated with antibiotics important to human medicine**.

"The positive changes we've made to our menu, including our vanilla soft serve, show we are fully committed to continuing to raise the bar at McDonald's," said Darci Forrest, senior director of menu innovation at McDonald's. "We are thanking all our guests with free vanilla soft serve on National Ice Cream Day. And we are excited to see which lucky individual will be handed a special Golden Arches Cone, signifying free soft serve for life!"

McDonald's soft serve impacts 60 percent of the desserts served by McDonald's, including McCafé Shakes and McFlurry desserts. In addition, all three shake flavors (chocolate, strawberry and vanilla) have no high fructose corn syrup and contain whipped topping made with no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives.

#SoftServed
@McDonalds jumpstarted the National Ice Cream Day celebration yesterday by complimenting approximately 1,300 Twitter users with personalized #SoftServed tweets. Select fans received surprise tweets from @McDonalds that were sweet and feel-good. All tweets were penned in partnership with digital property, Nerdist.

Over the past two years, McDonald's has made a series of changes to its menu, including the launch of All Day Breakfast, the removal of artificial preservatives from Chicken McNuggets, the debut of a new premium salad blend, and the use of real butter on English Muffins, bagels and biscuits.

* NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. The Golden Arches Cone Game is open only to residents of the 50 US/DC who are 13+. Subject to Official Rules at playatmcd.com. For this Game, participating restaurants do not include any McDonald's in a Walmart® store, contained in or as part of a retail gasoline or fuel station, in a food court or in or at any of the following sites: a casino, amusement park, hospital, transportation terminal (airport, subway or rail), toll road stop, school, public park, stadium/sports complex, zoo, museum, or in any building that includes a grouping of food outlets and/or shops or a festival. Void where prohibited. One Prize: McDonald's soft serve cones for "life" awarded as a $312 McDonald's® Arch Card® and a check for $4,680. Sponsored by McDonald's USA, LLC.

** Farmers still use ionophores, a class of antibiotics that are not prescribed to people, to help keep chickens healthy.

About McDonald's USA 
McDonald's USA, LLC, serves a variety of menu options made with quality ingredients to more than 25 million customers every day. Nearly 90 percent of McDonald's 14,000 U.S. restaurants are independently owned and operated by businessmen and women. Customers can now log online for free at approximately 11,500 participating Wi-Fi enabled McDonald's U.S. restaurants. For more information, visit www.mcdonalds.com, or follow us on Twitter @McDonalds and Facebook www.facebook.com/McDonaldsUS/.