Dress Like A Cow And Get A Free Meal At Chick-fil-A

On July 8, dressing like a cow means earning free food at .

Those who go to the restaurant wearing black and white spots from “head to hoof” on Cow Appreciation Day will be rewarded with a free combo meal at breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Those who are “too chicken” to go all out in full costume can still score one free entrée if they show up to the restaurant wearing partial cow attire—a cow-printed piece of clothing, hat, purse or other accessory.

“This is a regular thing that happens throughout the area,” said Carmen Fisher, marketing director of the Fowler Avenue Chick-fil-A, which opened in 1995 and is a member of the .

Chick-fil-A started its annual Cow Appreciation Day nationally in 2005 as part of its marketing campaign, which features cows encouraging people to eat chicken instead of beef.

The campaign began in 1995 with cows scribbling the words “EAT MOR CHIKIN” in black paint across a white billboard. Since then, the campaign has expanded to TV, radio, the Internet, and even water towers.

The Chick-fil-A cows have taken on their own personalities in calendars and other marketing tools as an attempt at self-preservation. Their idea is simple: If people are eating chicken, they aren’t eating cows.

According to Chick-fil-A, making your own cow costume is fun:

1. Start with items that you already have at home—cow-printed accessories stashed in your closet will work perfectly. Hats, vests, scarves, neckties, pants, shoes, pajamas—just abut any cow-spotted item will work. Just make sure you're covered head to toe.

2. Wear white, and then just add spots. Throw on a white T-shirt with white pants (even sweatpants) and stick on your spots using black contact paper. If contact paper is not easily accessible, you can cut spots out of construction paper and tape them to your shirt and pants. If nothing else, you can grab an old white T-shirt and color black spots all over it with a magic marker—and you'll still get a free entrée.

3. Go to your local paint or hardware store and get a white painter's hat and overalls. And then decorate yourself with spots made out of contact or construction paper.

4. Not feeling too creative and want an easy costume? Search the Internet for "cow costumes" and you will be flooded with full-body costumes available for purchase. (And hey, you'll be set for Halloween, too).

You can also download a costume kit and get information on the Best Cow Costume photo contest.

“We want to invite all of our Temple Terrace neighbors and friends to Chick-fil-A on Cow Appreciation Day,” Fisher said.