McDonald's Is Giving Away Free Sprite So You Can Decide if It Truly 'Hits Different'

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If you've ever thought the soda tastes better from McDonalds, you're not alone. Over the years, the concept has been covered by a diverse group of publications from Business Insider to Reader's Digest. McDonald's itself has even posted an explanation to the query. (TL;DR: The chain says they follow a series of quality control steps like pre-chilling the syrup and filtering the water.)

But does McDonald's fountain soda taste so good that you can hear what it tastes like? In a slightly bizarre synesthesia-approving promotion, McDonald's is offering customers a free Sprite with the hope that they will take to social media to describe what they believe that first taste of Sprite sounds like.

"We've seen thousands of memes and posts about how Sprite from McDonald's just 'hits different,'" the chain writes, telling us that they've seen over 15,000 mentions in the past month alone. "From saying it tastes like the sound of a zipper closing a jacket, to a dog growling, or even TV static, the creative ways our fans describe the carbonated taste of this longtime McDonald's favorite are endless."

Indeed, MickeyD's points to a few tweets where people posted exactly that…

Now, the chain is hoping to turn this idea of what a McDonald's fountain Sprite sounds like into even more of a phenomenon by posing a question to the public, "What sound does your Sprite from McDonald's taste like? We're all ears…"

To make participating in this social media phenomenon even easier, on the first day of summer, June 21, McDonald's is giving away a free any-size Sprite to anyone who spends at least $1 on the McDonald's app.

You don't have to post on social media to get your free Sprite; you just have to spend a buck in the app. But if you're going to accept the offer, you might as well play along.

For instance, to me, that first sip of Sprite sounds like a McDonald's cash register going "cha-ching!"