"Ubiquitous" <
web...@polaris.net> wrote in message
news:tmq9tq$j27t$2...@dont-email.me...
> In the '90s, fine dining chef Andrew Selvaggio was tasked with creating a
> burger that would appeal to sophisticated palates. The problem was no one
> wanted it.
>
> The year is 1996. Charles and Diana are divorcing, Jerry Maguire tops the
> box office, a Finn Dorset sheep named Dolly makes a friend made from her
> own
> mammary gland, and America's favorite sitcom is a show about nothing in
> which
> four neurotic New Yorkers debate life's finer points. Such sophisticated
> times, McDonald's had determined, called for a sophisticated sandwich, one
> that would appeal to the urbane, discerning, and diet-conscious tastes of
> Gen
> X: the Arch Deluxe.
>
> It was bold and upscale, featuring spices like pepper (ooh) and mustard
> (not
> yellow, but the stoneground kind - quelle magnifique). It was also the
> biggest marketing flop in McDonald's history, with the brand spending an
> estimated $200 million to advertise a sandwich that very few people -
> especially not sophisticated urbanites - wanted to order.
>
> Where McDonald's went wrong has been covered at length. Mistakes include
> marketing to a new, disinterested demographic, while neglecting the
> brand's
> core audience, overpricing the sandwich itself, some ad firm dram, and
> sweeping disinterest or disdain from franchisees. In 1996, the New York
> Times
> reported on a memo from the company's then-president Edward H. Rensi, in
> which Rensi "tried to marshal market-research data in a defense of the
> Arch
> Deluxe to the franchisees, writing in summary: 'Only those who expected a
> miracle were disappointed.'"
>
> Rensi was underselling McDonald's high hopes for the burger, which - per
> the
> New York Times - was originally projected to bring in $1 billion to the
> company. It wasn't entirely unreasonable to expect miracles because on
> paper,
> the Arch Deluxe is one hell of a burger: crisp lettuce, mustard-mayo
> sauce,
> peppered bacon, tomato, and beef on a bakery-style potato roll. It was the
> creation of Andrew Selvaggio, a fine dining chef from Chicago's legendary
> Pump Room. With all the talent and bona fides a McDonald's head chef
> required
> and then some, Selvaggio spent months coming up with what he now describes
> as
> "something unique and different [to] set us apart from everybody. The Arch
> Deluxe was supposed to be the first entry into a better burger - premium
> burger - experience for McDonald's."
>
> Selvaggio was hired as McDonald's head chef in 1994 and flourished in the
> role. He reveled in the impromptu lessons in food technology, food
> science,
> and process technology from what felt like the control center of the fast-
> food industry. Two years into the job, he was approached about creating a
> burger with a distinctly adult taste to shift the perception of McDonald's
> from a place for families to a place for anyone, childless grownups
> included.
> While this had actually been the case among working-class adults for some
> time, McDonald's was now pursuing high-earners and young professionals.
>
> For about a year, Selvaggio furiously worked from a glass-encased test
> kitchen, which looked like a lab out of Jurassic Park. "I tasted at least
> 30
> or more mustards for the Arch Deluxe sauce," he says. "I worked with the
> bakers to create potato rolls - not to mention a new salt-to-pepper ratio,
> commercials - many of which he's featured in - online, he finds himself
> mostly touched at the reactions from the masses. "You should see some of
> the
> comments. Everything from, 'I really missed this burger' to 'this guy
> probably is just like Jared Fogle.' But, man, I just start laughing when I
> read that stuff." (He is not, he clarifies, anything like Jared Fogle.)
>
> Had the Arch Deluxe debuted in a different time, and with a different
> marketing gimmick, there's a chance it could've been a hit. Only three
> years
> after the burger's discontinuation, McDonald's - giving up on the
> marketing
> white whale of Gen X - hit gold among millennials with its Justin
> Timberlake-fronted "I'm lovin' it" campaign. Younger generations typically
> don't approach fast food with the same amount of scorn, and sandwich
> releases
> now come with celebrity endorsements and the same level of anticipation as
> sneaker drops.
>
> Trends are currently geared more toward nostalgia, and reminding consumers
> what it was like to be a kid rather than highlighting the increasingly
> limited perks of adulthood (like paying $20 for a burger when you'd rather
> be
> ordering off the kids' menu). Lauded chefs like David Chang are not only
> less
> scornful of fast food, but go as far as to celebrate it. But at least one
> thing is consistent between now and then: The type of person in search of
> a
> more sophisticated, elite burger experience probably doesn't look to
> McDonald's. And vice versa, a person craving a McDonald's burger isn't
> asking
> for the bells and whistles, but the comforts of a classic. In the endless
> search for hype, the Golden Arches has had better luck repackaging its
> consistent menu with in-demand celebrities like Travis Scott or BTS than
> it
> ever will with a mustard-mayo sauce, no matter how delicious it is.
I rememer the arch-deluxe, I only tasted it 2 or 3 time's but I really liked
it. They should bring it back, even if just tempory for nostalgia puropse.
They could make a lot of money.............