With the comeback of the McRib once again at McDonalds, I started thinking of what foods out there in the fast food world have been total misses and not had the success of the McRib. Below are just a few of the many that just didn't get as far as some would have hoped.
The
Arch Deluxe
In
1996 McDonald’s introduced the world to the Arch Deluxe. According to some
sources McDonald’s spent an estimated $200 Million promoting the new product.
The major problem with the burger was it had such an unusual taste for a burger
found in a fast food chain at the time. The Arch had bacon, Spanish onions and
a blend of mustard and mayo on it. McDonald’s tried selling the burger so hard
they criticized customers for not having a sophisticated palate in their
advertising to have them try harder to like the burger.
McDonald's
McDLT
The McDLT was introduced in the mid 80’s. It burger was served separated in a
Styrofoam container with 2 sections in it. In the cold side went veggies and
the hot side went the meat, so that customers could “keep the hot side hot and
the cool side cool,” as the slogan went. It was then up to the customer to
take the step of combining the two when ready. This was a successful product
but what ended up putting an end to this burger was environmental movement in
the early 90’s, the Styrofoam container was not biodegradable and to comply
with regulations the container was scraped and put an end to the burger with
it.
McPizza
In
the late 1980’s, McDonalds introduced pizza to the menu. Pizza Hut and other
competitors got so worried that they dropped their prices of their pizzas to
chip aware at McDonalds. Unfortunately this item did not succeed for the fast
food restraint because unlike their other items this took much longer to cook
and would make customers angry who didn’t want to wait.
Hula
Burger
In
the early 1960’s, McDonald’s Came out with an item to attract the vegan
population into the restraint and also another option besides the Filet-O-Fish
for Roman Catholics that didn’t eat meat
on Fridays. That item was the Hula Burger. The Hula Burger was a slice of
grilled pineapple between two buns… oh yea with with cheese. This Item
was never popular and was removed from the menu quickly.
McAfrika
Norwegian
McDonalds introduced a burger called the McAfrika in 2002. This was a fine item, however a naming fail
was the problem with this burger, with bombarded questions from media and aid
agencies wanting to know why McDonalds went with that name when millions of
people in Africa were starting to death. Ultimately the burger was
discontinued.
McLobster
The
McLobster was a try at a classy sandwich for McDonalds put on Menus on the
Northeast America and Canada cities. The reason for the failure of this product
was because it cost $6 and that many McDonalds’ customers were not looking for
shellfish when getting something to eat at the restraint. Although it’s gone in
the states, you can still find this seasonal treat in Canadian McDonalds.
McBrats
In the fall seasons in the1990’s and again in 2002 McDonalds sold a Johnsonville
brand bratwurst. The general location of this product was found in Midwestern
cities. The reason for this failure was sales did not go like they planned and
stopped having it on their menu, however in eastern Wisconsin they still offer
it on a seasonal basis- This is because it is near Johnsonville headquarters.
McSpaghetti
In the early
1990’s McDonalds tried their hand in at Italian food besides its early attempt
at pizza a few years before that. McSpaghetti
was introduced and was not taken in with open arms by the customers many said
the pasta was bland.
McLean Deluxe
In 1991 A
lower-calorie Quarter Pounder sandwich was introduced to the McDonalds menu
called the McLean Deluxe. This burger was identical to the big N’ Tasty and the
McDLT, the only difference with this was that it was 91% lean beef and was
mixed with a type of seaweed which to some people thought did not taste the same as
other burgers.
Burger King's Shake 'em Up Fries
In the spring of 2002, Burger
King introduced Shake ‘em Up fries to get eaters (mostly kids) to “play with
their food”. How it worked was that you poured the fries into a special Shake
‘em Up bag followed by the package of powdered cheese then close the bag and
shake until the fries got covered in cheese. Shake ‘em Up Fries didn’t even
last the year.
Burger Bundles
Before Burger King had their Stackers they had a mini burger in the 80’s
called their Burger Bundles. That product was discontinued because the small
patties would often slip through the production broiler.
Burger King Table Service
In the
early 90’s Burger King tried to change up the fast food experience by adding
“service” to their restraints, this was where employees would deliver food
right to the customers table - like a real restraint. Also Burger King tried to
entice you to come into the restaurant by offering popcorn at the table while
you waited for your food.This didn’t really catch on and was dropped from the
restraints.
Taco Bell's Bell Beefer
In the 70’s and 80’s Taco Bell came out with a version of a
Sloppy Joe type of sandwich called the Bell Beefer. The Beefer was basically a pile
of taco meat served in a hamburger bun. Taco bell pulled the product after they
determined it a total flop, much like other flops this has a nice fan base
online.
Sonic's Pickle-O’s (Fried Pickles)
In 1968 Sonic Drive-in introduced an
item called Pickle-O’s, this item was a sliced dill pickle and battered and
deep fried. It’s not clear why the restraint stopped selling this item as it
seems to be popular with a Facebook page asking for Sonic to bring it back. In
2003 they did make a comeback for Sonic’s 50th Birthday Celebration.
Jack in the Box's Frings
In 1979 Jack in
the Box introduced Frings, they were a combination of French fries and
onion rings in one container. This sound awesome I don’t know why they stopped
selling this item.
Dairy Queen Breeze
A healthy attempt on the popular DQ
Blizzard introduced in the late 80’s was Dairy Queen Breeze. The Breeze was
made with frozen yogurt instead of ice cream, but it failed to catch on.
According to Dairy Queen’s Web site, all frozen yogurt products were
discontinued “because there was not enough demand for the product.”
Wendy's Superbar
In the late 80’s Wendy’s came up
with the idea of an all-you-can-eat buffet with food like salads,
Italian(Pizza, garlic bread…) and Mexican(Tacos, burritos…). The buffets stayed
around for over a decade but were discontinued in 1998. Wendy’s said that a
buffet did not fit their fast food model. There are still people online hoping
for its return someday.
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