11 McDonald's Menu Items That Were Huge Failures

1.

McDonald's developed new pizza items in the late 1980s but the items took longer to make than the staple items. Consumers would also rather go to McDonald's for burgers and fries.

2.

MCSPAGHETTI McDonald's tried offering Italian food. In addition to the McSpaghetti, there was lasagna and fettuccine alfredo. The items failed in the U.S. but are still available in some international markets.

3.

MCHOTDOG The McHotDog was just a basic hot dog. But consumers preferred ordering burgers, and the item was pulled.

4.

MCDLT The McDLT was introduced in the 1980s. The burger came in a styrofoam container that kept the lettuce and tomato separate so the veggies stayed cool. The item was popular but then was squashed by environmental concerns about the packaging.

5.

MIGHTY WINGS Mighty Wings launched for football season in 2013.But the wings failed to reach targets, and McDonald's had to resort to "chicken-wing clearance" to sell them off.

6.

HULA BURGER The Hula Burger replaced a meat patty with a grilled pineapple slice. It was meant for Catholics who didn't eat meat on Fridays. But the Filet-o-Fish was much more popular, and the Hula burger died.

7.

BIG N' TASTY The Big N' Tasty was meant to kill Burger King's Whopper. McDonald's killed the item after expanding its Angus burger line.

8.

ARCH DELUXE McDonald's spent $100 million marketing the Arch Deluxe in 1996. It contained peppered bacon, lettuce, tomato, cheese, onion, ketchup and secret sauce, but failed masssively.

9.

MCDONALD'S SUPER-SIZE Super-size was a hit for a decade until independent filmmaker Morgan Spurlock's documentary Super Size Me was released in 2004. The film showed Spurlock eating nothing but McDonald's for a month, and how it negatively affected his body. It was a PR disaster for McDonald's. By the end of 2004, super-sized portions were gone forever.

10.

MCLEAN DELUXE McDonald's developed new pizza items in the late 1980s but the items took longer to make than the staple items. Consumers would also rather go to McDonald's for burgers and fries.

11.

MCAFRIKA The McAfrika had beef, cheese, and tomatoes on a pita sandwich. The sandwich caused a spate of negative publicity in 2002 after it was released during famines in southern Africa. McDonald's apologized and pulled the item.