The Arch Deluxe was McDonald’s adult-oriented burger introduced as a premium menu item in the 1990s.
McDonald’s launched the Arch Deluxe in 1996 as part of an attempt to appeal more directly to adults. Its advertising emphasized a more sophisticated taste and presented the burger as different from the family-focused products traditionally associated with the chain. The campaign was unusually expensive and highly visible.
Despite the investment, the Arch Deluxe did not achieve the sales success McDonald’s expected and was eventually discontinued. Its failure became a frequently cited example of the difficulty of changing a familiar fast-food brand’s image through one premium product.
The Arch Deluxe is sometimes confused with the Big N’ Tasty, another later McDonald’s burger. The Arch Deluxe is the specific product associated with the 1990s adult-targeting campaign.