Since life isn't always only filled with successes, here are the Top 10 Fast Food Items That Totally
FAILED In America (Part 4).
McDonald's - McWrap
Everybody knows that McDonald's is not the place you go to when you're in the mood for
some healthy food. No, McDonald's is the place you go when you want something greasy, tasty,
familiar, and fast. So, when the McWraps made their debut in 2013, it left a lot of people
wondering if McDonald's had lost its way and was beginning to drift away from its original
motto. This release was supposed to make customers who love fresh sandwiches stray away from
Subway and also be a big hit with health-conscious millennials. However, the McWraps did neither.
The chain was trying to look more appealing to the younger generation in search of healthier
fare, but the McWrap marketing did not go according to plan, and the item ended up only
lasting a couple of years before it was slowly phased out. Apparently, fresh vegetables wrapped
in a tortilla were not what people associated McDonald's with, and the idea freaked a lot
of them out. The sales weren't as high as expected and, in the end, just cost more for
the chain to make than they actually brought in. Plus, the McWraps were too time-consuming
to assemble: a good 60 seconds versus 10 seconds for a burger. In the end, they were simply
not worth the hassle, and McD's got rid of them.
Dunkin'- Free Iced Coffee Day
If you put two of people's favorite things in the same sentence, you can be sure of having
a great success on your hands. In Dunkin's case, it was when they decided to put "free"
and "iced coffee" together to create one of the best events ever. At least, it should've
been. To treat its loyal customers and celebrate its 60th anniversary, Dunkin decided to announce
a "free iced coffee" day, and obviously, it got people really excited. However, as the
chain learned the hard way, there is such a thing as "reading the fine print carefully"
- something not a lot of people did before showing up at their local Dunkin's expecting
a free cup of iced joe. People who bothered to read the fine print knew that this amazing
promotion was only taking place at "participating locations" in six states. Those who didn't
get that far in their reading marched down to their local Dunkin' all giddy, unaware
of the disappointment they would later experience. Now, before the age of the internet, this
kind of slip-up might have led to vicious riots and donut looting, but instead, the
furious customers took their frustrations online, leaving angry comments on Dunkin's
social media accounts. Needless to say, Dunkin' made sure never to make the same mistake again
and always put key information where everyone can see it.
McDonald's - McLean Deluxe
Decidedly, "McDonald's" and "diet" do not belong in the same sentence. Back in the 1990s
however, McD's tried to market its food as a more "sophisticated" fast food option by
releasing an entire deluxe line. It had the intention of capturing the adult consumer
market by presenting a burger with more "grown-up" tastes, whatever that means. Among this line
was the McLean Deluxe. The burger was supposed to be the "healthier" version of a regular
McDonald's burger and consisted of ketchup, mustard, lettuce, pickles, and tomatoes, along
with a reduced-fat patty. It was advertised as 90% fat-free as it contained 10 grams of
fat, compared to the Big Mac's 26. You would think that a burger with such a low-fat content
would have loads of appeal, but as it turns out, it had the complete opposite reaction.
You see, in order to make the meat so lean, the fat had to be replaced with something
else. In this case, it was carrageenan, a chemical derived from red seaweed. The problem?
The taste of the patty, or rather the lack thereof. The patty was described as being
flavorless and unappealing, and it wasn't long before the use of carrageenan was put
to shame. After only a few years, the McLean Deluxe was pulled from the menu, as well as
the rest of the Deluxe line.
Burger King - Bacon Sundae
You say "bacon," and everyone's on board. You say "sundae," and oof you've got yourself
a deal. But if you say "bacon sundae," now you've gone too far. It seems like when Burger
King decided to come up with its bacon sundae in 2012 as part of its new limited edition
summer menu, it didn't get the memo of what is acceptable and what isn't. The dessert
wasn't anything too complicated, really; it consisted of plain vanilla soft-serve along
with some chocolate and caramel syrup and some bacon bits sprinkled on top. Had BK stopped
there, it might've been somewhat okay, but no, it took it one step further. The sundae
also featured a giant, thick strip of bacon, just sticking out of the cup. That's where
people had trouble. Most people admitted that the bacon was useless and would've rather
eaten a standard caramel and chocolate sundae. It's not that people didn't like the bacon;
it just didn't seem to belong there. The overall response was pretty neutral - nothing too
crazy bad, but nothing crazy good either. In light of the public's feedback, the Bacon
Sundae was pulled and never returned to the menu. Everybody loves bacon, but sometimes,
certain lines simply cannot be crossed.
Taco Bell - Waffle Taco
Chances are, you've heard about this particular flop before. It was such a disaster for Taco
Bell; people still talk about it today. Of course, we're talking about the Waffle Taco.
The Waffle Taco was invented in an attempt to jazz up the chain's breakfast menu - and
let's just say there would've been way better ways to do so. In 2014, Taco Bell decided
to take a waffle folded into a taco-like shape and fill it with your choice of bacon or sausage
and scrambled eggs. Oh, and don't forget the packet of syrup you got on the side to drizzle
on top. The waffle was described as a little sweet, which didn't overpower the rest of
the toppings, and was similar to a frozen waffle. While it doesn't sound like the worst
thing in the world on paper, in reality, people had a lot to say about this breakfast "innovation."
Apparently, the waffle was not crispy in the slightest and was overly oily, not at all
what a waffle should be. For some, though, the Waffle Taco wasn't bad at all and even
became a fan favorite, but since it wasn't as successful as the chain had hoped, it was
pulled from the menu only a year after its introduction. Taco Bell tried to replace the
Waffle Taco with a Biscuit Taco, fitting a similar model: a taco-shaped biscuit filled
with breakfast-ey fillings, but alas, this one didn't make the cut either. Maybe Taco
Bell should stick to what it does best - and obviously that's not breakfast!
McDonald's - Super Size
Not exactly a food item, but still a pretty notable fast-food fail that happened right
here. Starting in 1993, McDonald's would offer its customers the possibility to "upgrade"
their already pretty huge meal by "supersizing it." The supersize option was available for
your soda, leading up to a good 42 ounces, as well as for your French fries for a total
of 7 ounces. Even though this offer sounds a little over the top to begin with, it was
still acceptable and very common. Well, until it was phased out in 2004. One of the main
reasons why the supersize option was removed from the McD's menu was due to the documentary
“Super Size Me," directed by Morgan Spurlock. The social experiment involved Spurlock eating
only McDonald's for 30 days straight to see what effects it would have on his body. After
a month of sustaining himself with 3 fast-food meals a day and "supersizing" his meal whenever
he was offered, the results were rather scary and unsettling. His impressive weight gain
and psychological repercussions had a lot of people worried. This put a spotlight of
bad publicity on McDonald's. After the documentary came out, McDonald's was suddenly ready to
turn over a new leaf and wanted to make a larger effort to make their menu healthier.
No matter what pushed the chain to take this step, the important part is, the "supersize
me" option is no longer available.
In-N-Out - 100x100
When it comes to food challenges, most people are always down, no matter what it implies.
And since cheesy burgers are one of the best ways to treat yourself, a burger challenge
shouldn't be too scary, right? At In-N-Out, every burger is cooked fresh to order and
tailored to fit your preferences and appetite. You can get the regular cheeseburger with
only one patty, or you can spice things up and add an extra patty - or two - or apparently
99! Technically, the chain offers the 3x3, which includes three beef patties and three
slices of cheese along with the 4x4. Those are the official and highest meat to cheese
ratios that can be found on the menu. But, if you're feeling a little more adventurous
and want to test the limits of your stomach, you can pretty much get as many patties as
you want, and for a while, you could even get a burger with as many as 100 beef patties
and 100 slices of cheese - the 100x100! If you think this doesn't sound all that legit,
today, you would be right. After the beast of a burger was served as part of the secret
menu, the chain received some unwanted attention and decided to institute a damage control
policy stating that no burger larger than a 4x4 could be made under any circumstances.
Obviously, some In-N-Out locations will still go a little beyond the 4x4 limit and make
some unauthorized options, but not the 100x100.
Burger King - Halloween Whopper
Burger King is no stranger to adding some colorful touches to their Whoppers, especially
around Halloween. Over the years, we've pretty much seen every color of the rainbow: from
red to green to translucent white; Halloween is a pretty spooky time to go to Burger King.
Back in 2015, BK was looking to scare up even more sales during the holiday and released
its Halloween Whopper, which was the definition of a "dark burger." It featured all the regular
Whopper toppings, only they were all between tinted black buns and came with A1 steak
sauce. Not only was it not exactly the most appetizing burger ever, but many customers
reported some very unusual - ahem, uh - bowel movements after indulging in the creepy Whopper.
Indeed, because of all the artificial coloring added to the bun, the Halloween Whopper seemed
to turn people's stools a frightening shade of green, and these people immediately took
to social media to share their experiences. Medical experts were obviously quick to say this colorful
side effect was nothing to worry about, but still, it didn't leave a lot of customers
eager to get their hands on one. We appreciate the effort, but maybe Burger King should steer
clear of colored buns for a while.
Pizza Hut - Flavor of Now
Pizza is one of the foods in life that just seems timeless. We will probably - and hopefully
- never get tired of the good old toppings, sauce, and crust as they are simply ingrained
in our culture. As Pizza Hut began playing with the winning recipe back in 2014, it soon
realized the importance of classics. The "Flavor of Now" menu was another attempt by a chain
to attract hungry millennial customers by featuring "innovative" pizza toppings. The
line had 5 new toppings, which included premium salami, sliced banana peppers, classic meatballs,
fresh spinach, and even Peruvian cherry peppers. But that's not all: it also had 8 all-new
crust flavors like Honey Sriracha, Salted Pretzel, and Fiery Red Pepper to make sure
your pizza had fancy flavors going all the way to the edge. You could combine these with
sauces like Classic Marinara, Creamy garlic Parmesan, or Buffalo and top it off with a
drizzle of balsamic, barbeque, or really any type of flavor punch you could think of.
While on the surface, it sounds like a genius idea that should be an immediate success,
it's not exactly clear what happened. Pizza Hut's attempt to make the place upscale was
not embraced by customers, which forced the chain to go back to its regular pizza offerings.
Pizza Hut was just trying to become "elite" and look more sophisticated, but the idea
just ended up blowing up instead. A big fail, indeed!
Dairy Queen - MooLatte
Even though this particular item is still on the menu today, it doesn't mean that it
doesn't qualify as a total fast food failure. As a way of competing with the Starbucks'
craze, in 2004 Dairy Queen decided to offer its very own blended coffee called the MooLatte.
The mixture of coffee and ice cream was an instant hit, and people seemed to get on board
with the idea pretty quickly - well, at least until the word got around that the name of
the beverage wasn't exactly appropriate. Somehow, the drink went straight from the lab to the
menu without anyone even realizing the obvious resemblance to a politically incorrect term
to refer to a biracial person. The word mulatto, which is derived from the Spanish word for
"mule," is considered a slur, which left people wondering whether or not DQ was aware of its
mistake. Slate magazine even went as far as questioning the mental competence of Dairy
Queen’s corporate leadership. Ouch. The controversy eventually faded into the background,
and most people seemed to have moved on from this faux pas, but it was never entirely forgotten.
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