The McDonald's Deluxe line was a series of sandwiches introduced in the mid-1990s and marketed by McDonald's with the intent of capturing the adult fast food consumer market, presented as a more sophisticated burger for an adult palate.[1] It failed to catch on and is seen as one of the most expensive flops of all time.[2]
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History
The line was first introduced in 1991 with the McLean Deluxe; the Arch Deluxe was introduced in 1995 and the others in 1996. Except for the McLean Deluxe, all sandwiches were developed by McDonald's executive chef Andrew Selvaggio.[3][4]
Advertising
McDonald's budgeted at $100–150 million (USD) for the introduction of the line and contracted the Minneapolis, Minnesota based ad firm of Fallon McElligott to oversee the roll out of the project.[5] The original advertising for these products took the form of children criticizing the new adult oriented sandwiches and Ronald McDonald doing more adult themed things such as going dancing or playing golf.[1][2] The firm went so far as to commission the Columbus, Ohio based Fahlgren ad firm to created a complete set of music designed specifically for the radio ad campaigns. The new tunes were an early form of viral marketing, designed as to appeal to 18-34 year old demographic.[6] Further ads were created by DDB Worldwide.[1]
In promotional materials for these products, all employed a similar logo that featured a different color in the background.
Product variants
All sandwiches were served on a bakery style roll and featured better quality ingredients such as whole leaf lettuce.[3]
Burgers
- The McLean Deluxe was marketed as a healthy alternative to McDonald's regular menu. It was released in the United States in 1991. It had a reduced fat content compared to other McDonald's hamburgers. This was achieved through use of 91% lean beef and the addition of carrageenan to the meat. The McLean Deluxe was originally designed as a replacement of the McDLT. Like the McDLT, and despite performing well in taste-tests, it did not sell well and was dropped from the menu in 1994.[7]
- The Arch Deluxe was another product to compete against the Burger King Whopper sandwich. It had hickory bacon, onions, tomato, ketchup, lettuce, American cheese, and a mustard and mayonnaise based Chef's sauce.[4]
Chicken and fish
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- The Grilled Chicken Deluxe sandwich and light mayonnaise, lettuce and tomatoes; additional sauces to replace the mayo were available. The sandwich was targeted to the female and health conscious markets.
- The Crispy Chicken Deluxe replaced the McChicken sandwich and had mayonnaise, lettuce and tomatoes.
- The Fish Filet Deluxe replaced the Filet-O-Fish sandwich and had tartar sauce, American cheese and lettuce. The fish patty was 50% larger than the original fish fillet used in the Filet-O-Fish. After the Fish Filet Deluxe was dropped, the larger fish patty was used in the current Filet-O-Fish.
See also
References
- ^ a b c Glenn Collins (1996-09-19). "Chief of McDonald's Defends Arch Deluxe to Franchisees". the New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A06E3D81E3AF93AA2575AC0A960958260. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
- ^ a b Mark Kassof (June 1997). "Lessons from marketing flops.". Kassof.com. http://www.kassof.com/insights/ri-su97f.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
- ^ a b McDonald's Corporation (1997-10-13). "McDonald's new Deluxe line". WebArchive.com. http://web.archive.org/web/19971013041324/www.mcdonalds.com/a_now/deluxe_line/sandwiches. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
- ^ a b Wally Bach (2003-03-17). "McDonald's: When the Passion is Gone, the Profits are Over". MondayMemo.com. http://www.mondaymemo.net/030317feature.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
- ^ Glenn Collins (1996-05-10). "With a new sandwich and a $200 million campaign, McDonald's tries to win back older diners.". the New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9404E5D91539F933A25756C0A960958260. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
- ^ Carrie Shook (1996-01-14). "Arch Deluxe sizzles to retro funky sound created by Circa". Business First of Columbus. http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/1996/06/17/tidbits.html. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
- ^ Anthony Ramírez (1991-03-19). "Fast Food Lightens Up But Sales Are Often Thin". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9D0CE7DD1430F93AA25750C0A967958260. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
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