Failed McDonalds menu items.

techs

Lifer
Sep 26, 2000
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http://money.howstuffworks.com...onalds-menu-items1.htm
5. The Hula Burger
McDonald's founder, Ray Kroc, was a brilliant businessman -- when he kept out of the kitchen. After buying the business's rights from the McDonald brothers, he expanded into new geographic markets but soon discovered a problem with the sales in regions with large Catholic populations.

In the early 1960s, it was still popular for American Catholics to abstain from meat every Friday. Kroc had high hopes for his nonmeat option called "The Hula Burger" -- grilled pineapple with cheese on a bun. He positioned his burger to compete against the Filet-o-Fish sandwich, which was invented by a Catholic franchisee. The Filet-o-Fish won hands down while the Hula tanked


http://money.howstuffworks.com...onalds-menu-items2.htm
4. McPizza
You can have an Egg McMuffin for breakfast and a Big Mac for lunch, but what are die-hard McDonald's fans supposed to do for dinner? McDonald's tried to solve dilemma in the late 1980s and early 1990s with the McPizza. To build the dinner menu, it even tried adding similar options like lasagna and spaghetti [source: Kidd]. Theoretically, McDonald's could've been your one-stop shop -- forget Dominos and Pizza Hut!­

Unfortunately, McDonald's customers didn't forget. On top of that, McDonald's customers who were used to fast service were irritated by the long wait times for made-to-order pizza. Although the effort failed, some franchises kept the McPizza on the menu for a while. It wasn't that the McPizza fared doing better in those markets; the franchises were stuck with pizza ovens they paid fifty grand for.


http://money.howstuffworks.com...onalds-menu-items3.htm
3. Arch Deluxe
­In 1996, McDonald's wanted to broaden its image, so it launched a special advertising campaign. Instead of seeing a fun-loving Ronald McDonald dancing around with kids, TV viewers saw commercials of kids grimacing in disgust at the latest McDonald's burger. This new burger, dubbed the Arch Deluxe, was supposed to appeal to adult tastes with a secret mustard-mayonnaise sauce. That's right: McDonald's -- the symbol of fast, low-priced American food -- was seeking the sophisticated, urban demographic.

As you may have guessed, it didn't work. It seems adults didn't find a child's sheer disgust at a sandwich very appetizing. The company tried another approach -- this time with commercials featuring Ronald McDonald at clubs, golfing and playing pool. This failed because it contradicted the family-friendly atmosphere that McDonald's had cultivated for so long.
Mickey D's spent more money on the Arch Deluxe advertising campaign than it had on any other -- $100 million -- making the sandwich a pricey mistake


http://money.howstuffworks.com...onalds-menu-items4.htm
2. McLean Deluxe
More than a decade before the "Super Size Me" documentary, nutritionists were attacking McDonald's for what they considered an unhealthy menu. To appease these critics and lure the health-conscious crowd into its restaurants, McDonald's unveiled the McLean Deluxe in 1991. It advertised the burger as 91 percent fat free; it had 10 grams of fat compared to the Big Mac's 26 [source: McCullough].

The secret was in the seaweed. To make the burger so lowfat, the company replaced the fat content with water. The recipe called for carrageenan -- a seaweed extract -- to bind the water to the beef. Beef made up only 90 percent of the patty, and water and carrageenan made up the remaining 10 percent [source: Riley]. Despite the addition of "natural" beef flavor additives, the result was a dry failure of a burger that was later called "the McFlopper"

http://money.howstuffworks.com...onalds-menu-items5.htm
1. McAfrica
In its efforts to cater to people with expanding cultural palates in the U.S., and to appeal to an international audience, McDonald's has released some themed sandwiches throughout the world. Take the McArabia -- a flatbread sandwich with chicken, salad and garlic sauce -- released in Arab countries and in Egypt to help stop a boycott of American products in respon­se to the Iraq War [source: Reuters].

But the company made a major faux pas with a different sandwich. This one was released in Norway in 2002 and called the McAfrica. It consisted of beef and veggies in pita bread. It wasn't that it tasted bad -- but it was in bad taste, according to critics. That's because McDonald's happened to release this sandwich at a time when massive famine was occurring in Africa. The irony was too glaring for people to ignore. After being attacked as insensitive, the company agreed to roll back on its plans for the sandwich and kept donation boxes for hunger-relief charities at the restaurants that did offer it.




Wow. The McAfrica?
 
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Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
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Interesting I only know of two of those. I remember the McPizza. It was actually pretty good, I used to always eat it when I was a little kid. I remember the Arch Deluxe too but never actually had one.
 

Chaotic42

Lifer
Jun 15, 2001
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They still had the pizzas in 2001 when I worked at McDonald's. As for the ovens, they were also used for biscuits and pies, so they weren't useless.

What really sucked is when they stopped buying tomatoes from local famers and started buying the bulk packaged tomatoes. Bleh.
 

waggy

No Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
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Originally posted by: RedSquirrel
Interesting I only know of two of those. I remember the McPizza. It was actually pretty good, I used to always eat it when I was a little kid. I remember the Arch Deluxe too but never actually had one.

i worked at McDonalds at the time (i was in high school) the McPizza was actually pretty good.
 

LilPima

Golden Member
Sep 26, 2008
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I worked at McD in high school when they released the Arch Deluxe... it was pretty awesome from what I could remember!
 
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May 31, 2001
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Wasn't there something called the McDLT? It had the veggies on one side and the hot stuff on the other, so you could assemble it when you were ready to eat it?
 

Cattlegod

Diamond Member
May 22, 2001
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haha mcafrica. i would have expected it to be a pile of sand between two buns with some aids sauce.
 

Chaotic42

Lifer
Jun 15, 2001
33,929
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Originally posted by: Cattlegod
haha mcafrica. i would have expected it to be a pile of sand between two buns with some aids sauce.

That sounds like Burger King.
 

dwell

pics?
Oct 9, 1999
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What was the one from the 80s that came in two halves you had to put together? McDLT?
 

sjwaste

Diamond Member
Aug 2, 2000
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Originally posted by: ShotgunSteven
Wasn't there something called the McDLT? It had the veggies on one side and the hot stuff on the other, so you could assemble it when you were ready to eat it?

I think that one tanked because it used like twice as much styrofoam. That was back when people cared about styrofoam containers. I've noticed they're back in, as the eco crowd has moved on to other things, like cars.

Now that I'm on this tangent, you really don't hear those jerks talk about the rain forest being cut down anymore, huh? As far as I can tell, that hasn't stopped, they've just moved on?
 

foghorn67

Lifer
Jan 3, 2006
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Originally posted by: sjwaste
Originally posted by: ShotgunSteven
Wasn't there something called the McDLT? It had the veggies on one side and the hot stuff on the other, so you could assemble it when you were ready to eat it?

I think that one tanked because it used like twice as much styrofoam. That was back when people cared about styrofoam containers. I've noticed they're back in, as the eco crowd has moved on to other things, like cars.

Now that I'm on this tangent, you really don't hear those jerks talk about the rain forest being cut down anymore, huh? As far as I can tell, that hasn't stopped, they've just moved on?

McBLT. Bacon Lettuce and Tomato. It wasn't half bad.
 

ProfJohn

Lifer
Jul 28, 2006
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Anyone remember them trying to do home delivery??

They tried it in Virginia Beach VA in the early 90s. Flopped.
 

ProfJohn

Lifer
Jul 28, 2006
18,251
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Originally posted by: Chris
What was the one from the 80s that came in two halves you had to put together? McDLT?
Keep the hot side hot and the cool side cool.

Scary that I remember the tag line :)
 

DrPizza

Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
Mar 5, 2001
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I just wish they'd bring back the old pies, instead of the baked crappy things they have now. I really don't care that they have a few more fat grams - I eat at McD's maybe once a month, if that. But, if I'm "splurging" on crappy, not good for you food, I'd rather have the dessert that tasted better.
 

lupi

Lifer
Apr 8, 2001
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i worked at one that took in well over 7 digits a year so they got to try a lot of different "ideas". had the pizza, fried chicken, buffalo wings, and delivery service along with the other common industry wide things like the mclean. also had a fajita like thing that i don't recall if that eve became a standard thing or not.
 

PricklyPete

Lifer
Sep 17, 2002
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Originally posted by: LilPima
I worked at McD in high school when they released the Arch Deluxe... it was pretty awesome from what I could remember!

I was in highschool when it came out and I thought it was fantastic...ate it all the time when I went to McD's and was sad to see it go.
 

PricklyPete

Lifer
Sep 17, 2002
14,714
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Originally posted by: DrPizza
I just wish they'd bring back the old pies, instead of the baked crappy things they have now. I really don't care that they have a few more fat grams - I eat at McD's maybe once a month, if that. But, if I'm "splurging" on crappy, not good for you food, I'd rather have the dessert that tasted better.

Couldn't agree more. I rarely eat a desert...so when I'm eating one...I want it to be good.
 

CrackRabbit

Lifer
Mar 30, 2001
16,641
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The Arch Deluxe wasn't bad, but it went over like a lead balloon in Texas.
Texans (in general) like mustard on their hamburgers.
In fact I remember the Mc D's I worked at had a McTexas burger, same as the Arch Deluxe but had a pepper mustard on it instead of the Dijon mayo.

I miss the steak and cheese bagels they had for breakfast as well. Haven't seen those in a long time.