How to roll out big ideas and avoid the Museum of Failure

It's been called one of the biggest product flops ever. It's studied in business schools as a cautionary tale. It's literally in The Museum of Failure (an actual museum).

But back in 1996, McDonald's executives believed that the Arch Deluxe hamburger was the solution to their problems. The company's growth had flatlined. Competitors were eating into their sales. With its stone-ground dijon mustard, peppery bacon, and split-top potato bun, the flavorsome Arch Deluxe was supposed to help the company reverse their decline by appealing to a new, older demographic. The restaurant conducted extensive focus groups that showed adults liked the burger. And so they invested money — lots of money — in rolling it out nationwide.

McDonald's kicked off the release of the Arch Deluxe with a glitzy at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The event featured Ronald McDonald dressed in a the Arch Deluxe was "the burger with the grown-up taste." It was a fast-food company had ever spent on a product launch.