McDonald's may not be perfect, but you can't blame them for trying new things. Sometimes
their gambles even work out — after all, the Chicken McNugget was a new fast-food concept
in 1983, and we all know how that turned out.
Unfortunately, however, not every fast food invention is going to be a success, and every
once in a while McDonald's manages to come up with an idea that goes down like a lead
balloon. Maybe the concept doesn't make sense, or the roll-out is shoddy — or maybe people
just aren't ready for something new. Either way, things don't always turn out well when
McDonald's decides to take a new direction. Take some of these burgers, for example.
First up is the McLean Deluxe. McDonald's thought it had hit paydirt with this burger,
which had 9 percent fat in its patty rather than the usual 20 percent. It seemed like
the perfect fast-food item for the fat-conscious 1990s, so McDonald's rushed it out at all
of its restaurants nationwide. But the McLean had a few issues. It was expensive, for one,
but more importantly… it just didn't taste any good. The McLean debuted in 1991 and hung
on until 1996 before finally being discontinued.
"Low fat and delicious? Can't be done."
Over in Norway, McDonald's drew fire from international relief organizations in 2002,
after billboards in Oslo announced the arrival of a limited-time burger called the McAfrika.
The McAfrika was made up of beef, cheese, tomatoes, and salad in a pita, and was said
to be based on an authentic African recipe. The only problem? An estimated 12 million
people in southern Africa were starving at the time. After the McAfrika debuted, an official
from Norwegian Church Aid said:
"Launching a burger with such a name at the same time Africa is facing perhaps its worst
hunger catastrophe ever is very bad timing."
McDonald's later admitted it wasn't a good look for one of the world's richest nations
to have a hamburger named after a continent experiencing massive food shortages. Still,
they kept the limited-time promotion going until its scheduled end.
But the McAfrika wasn't universally reviled, with one African organization in Norway actually
coming out in support of the McDonald's misfire. In the wake of the controversy, the head of
African Youth in Norway said the relief organizations' anger was misplaced. He said:
"Finally we see someone who uses the continent's name in a positive way. Even though there
is a terrible shortage of food in some areas of Africa, this is far from the situation
all over the continent."
But although the McLean Deluxe and McAfrika didn't exactly go down well, they were far
from the worst burgers McDonald's ever put out. No, the one burger that McDonald's will
really be hoping you've forgotten is the McDLT, which was sold from 1984 to 1991.
In fairness, the McDLT did have a few things going for it. For one, it didn't taste terrible,
and it didn't remind anyone of starving people in Africa, either. The problem was that it
came with an extra side of Styrofoam. All McDonald's burgers came in Styrofoam containers
in the 1980s, but the McDLT was served in a double-wide clamshell, with one half holding
the beef patty and the bottom bun, and the other half containing the lettuce, tomato,
cheese, and top bun. Basically, the idea was that the hot side would be kept hot and the
cool side would be kept cool. But any benefit to this convenience was far outweighed by
the environmental implications of the double-dose of Styrofoam in each order.
The rise of the McDLT coincided with increasing public awareness of Styrofoam's impact on
the environment. Styrofoam's ingredients are cancer-causing, and take hundreds of thousands
of years to break down, crumbling into small pieces that end up being ingested by birds
and fish. Eventually, McDonald's consulted with the Environmental Defense Fund, and by
the early 1990s, its Styrofoam clamshells were history, along with the McDLT. Today,
the chain is working towards a goal of 100 percent sustainable packaging, so it's hard
to believe they're particularly proud of their Styrofoam-laden past — or the McDLT itself.
Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus, even more Mashed videos about your favorite
stuff are coming soon. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss
a single one.