Getty Images/Justin Sullivan
McDonald's is giving away free Egg McMuffins.
- McDonald's is giving out free Egg McMuffins on March 2 to compete with Wendy's national breakfast menu rollout.
- Customers can score a free sandwich by downloading the McDonald's app and visiting participating locations between 6 and 10:30 a.m.
- "No longer will people have to suffer stale, tired, old sandwiches with folded eggs and microwaved bacon," Wendy's chief marketing officer Carl Loredo said in a statement to Business Insider.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
McDonald's isn't about to let Wendy's debut its new breakfast menu without a fight.
On March 2, the fast-food chain will give out free Egg McMuffins to honor the company's newly dubbed "National McMuffin Day" - which just so happens to coincide with the national launch date of Wendy's breakfast. Customers can snag a sandwich from 6 to 10:30 a.m. at participating McDonald's locations by downloading the chain's mobile app to redeem the offer.
"While we're giving the Egg McMuffin its moment, we're really honoring our breakfast fans who have woken up with McDonald's breakfast for nearly 50 years," David Tovar, McDonald's vice president of US communications, said in a statement to Business Insider. "And we just thought, 'hey, why not declare March 2 as National Egg McMuffin Day?'"
A spokesperson for McDonald's had no comment regarding the curious timing. Despite the competition, Wendy's chief marketing officer Carl Loredo said in a statement to Business Insider that he believes March 2 will be the day competing fast-f00d breakfasts will be "laid to rest."
"While most goodbyes are sad, this one isn't," Loredo said. "McDonald's holiday, as we see it, is the day that the Egg McMuffin and other old breakfasts are laid to rest. No longer will people have to suffer stale, tired, old sandwiches with folded eggs and microwaved bacon. A new day has dawned as Wendy's has introduced what soon will be America's new favorite breakfast."
For Wendy's, the move is the latest in a series of obstacles contributing to the fast-food chain's fraught relationship with breakfast. The company has tried and failed on several occasions to foray into breakfast, including an attempt at a 2013 regional rollout that was ultimately snuffed out by McDonald's using a slew of competitive advertisements and promotions.
While Wendy's executives have expressed confidence in the new menu, March 2 will still prove to be an important day in convincing customers and investors alike that the brand has the stamina to maintain a breakfast menu. Part of the chain's optimism comes from its careful creation of a menu that was specifically designed to set itself apart from McDonald's and compete with the likes of Chick-fil-A, with the help of additions like the honey chicken biscuit sandwich.
"Bring it on," John Li, Wendy's vice president of culinary innovation, said at a press preview earlier this month. "We know that we've got a menu that's going to clean their clocks."