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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Bethan Shufflebotham

I failed to win a McDonald’s Coca-Cola cup - but didn’t come home empty-handed

McDonald’s have launched a brand new promotion this week, which sees customers bag cash prizes and freebies when they buy any medium or large soft drinks. But there was one prize in particular that shoppers have been most excited about - the iconic Coca-Cola cups.

McDonald’s confirmed the colourful cups would be one of the prizes available in their new peel-to-in promotion ‘Winning Sips’ on social media last week, sending fans wild with nostalgia.

Fans were loving the announcement, with lots saying they wanted to collect every colour. One wrote: "Still got the originals from many years ago." Another added: "I'd love collecting the cups back in my days I can't wait till they come back again."

READ MORE: McDonald's bringing back iconic free gift as part of new peel-to-win game

The cups are available in three different colours, green, blue and purple - but how easy are they to get your hands on? I headed down to my local McDonald’s to try to find out.

The month-long promotion launched in stores today (March 29), and the store was absolutely packed when I arrived. Ordering on the touchscreens, I picked up four Coca-Cola Zeros in a first attempt to win one of the coveted cups.

The new Coca Cola glasses which McDonald's customers can win (McDonald's)

Four medium drinks came in at £5.96, and despite the large queue of diners awaiting their food orders, my drinks were called out pretty quickly.

The Monopoly-style game pieces can be found on medium and large soft drinks and milkshakes during the promotion. Each cup has one peel-off sticker which will either reveal instantly that a prize has been won, or provide an app code to play online.

Peeling back the corner of my first sticker, I was a combination of nervous and excited as I reminisced fondly on those cheerful branded beverage vessels. I saw a W, followed by an I and an N, but as I pulled off the full sticker, it revealed I had not won one of the Coca-Cola cups, but a Big Mac, instead. Not a bad win at all, I suppose - worth around £3.69 on its own.

The next sticker featured a code I could enter into the app for a prize, which turned out to be an entry into a prize draw to win £10,000 in cash. I won’t hold my breath for that email, mind you, nice as it would be.

My third sticker revealed a free McFlurry, which confirmed my decision to have one of the new Creme Egg McFlurrys to take home with me, with the fourth also being a prize draw entry.

Still determined to get my mitts on one of the Coca-Cola cups, I drained one of the four drinks, and handed the rest out to people awaiting their orders before placing another ticket for four more Coca-Cola Zeros.

I crossed my fingers, and perhaps not so tentatively as before ripped off the stickers in the hopes of revealing that must-have prize. But alas, Lady Luck was not on my side, instead offering up two more prize draws, a Coca-Cola Zero and a sugar donut.

More of the ‘millions’ of prizes up for grabs include limited-edition merch like bucket hats and towels, but sadly, I didn’t win any of those, either.

I may not have come home with one of the elusive Coca-Cola cups, but at least I didn’t come home empty handed. I won four instant food prizes, including a Big Mac, drink, donut and McFlurry, all worth somewhere between £8 and £9 in total, that said, I spent nearly £12 trying to win them - so you decide whether it’s a good deal or not.

It definitely offers an extra thrill with your extra value meal - something of a dopamine hit as you reveal your prize, but it really is pure luck what you win. Although I didn’t win a Coca-Cola cup, someone else will - and I will envy them for the next decade if I don’t manage to win one myself.

The Winning Sips promotion isn’t the only exciting thing happening at McDonald’s this week, though. This Wednesday, the menu has had another shakeup, including the return of the Chicken Big Mac - a twist on the classic and much-loved burger we all know and love, with its reassuringly recognisable triple layered bun, plus two chicken breast patties in a crispy coating, a slice of cheese, lettuce, pickles, and the deliciously world-famous Big Mac sauce.

Also joining the menu from today is the new Steakhouse Stack - a premium beef burger, developed to evoke flavours of steak with peppercorn sauce, as well as the return of fan favourites Mozzarella Dippers, Cadbury Creme Egg and Cadbury® Caramel Egg McFlurrys. But if breakfast is more your thing, the fast food chain has brought back the Mighty McMuffin for three months, featuring sausage, egg, bacon, cheese, and ketchup or brown sauce.

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