There’s another aspect of the Big Arch that harkens back to the Arch Deluxe: the value proposition.
McDonald’s recent resonance with cash-strapped U.S. diners already paid off in the fourth quarter, with year-over-year sales rising 5.7% in the three months to December, buoyed by marketing around cost-conscious bundles such as its holiday Grinch Meal.
By contrast, the 1996 Arch Deluxe proved a disappointment for McDonald’s. Quinlan was gone by 1998, and the burger soon followed.
A big part of the trouble? Aside from the potato bun, just about everything else on the Arch Deluxe (the quarter-pound patty, American cheese, iceberg lettuce, and “secret sauce” of mayo and mustard) could be had with a Big Mac or Quarter Pounder with Cheese, and at a lower price.
Time will tell if the Big Arch fares better this time around. Though some diners have made observations that echo the 1996 criticisms, including one on the McDonald’s subreddit who wrote: “The Big Arch is a Double Quarter Pounder cosplaying as a Big Mac.”
