The year is 2015 and the burger wars were just starting.
For the very first time in history, McDonald was no longer the undisputed king of fast food burgers.
Competitors like Shake Shack and Five Guys were surging, beating the once untouchable golden arches with quality over quantity.
In 2015, McDonald's had just discontinued the fan favorite snack wraps, removed hot mustard from the sauce lineup, and axed the Bacon Habanero Ranch, Bacon & Cheese, Deluxe Quarter Pounder with Cheese.
To freshen up the menu, they rolled out a series of new items that same year in a desperate effort to freshen their old-school cheap burger image, appeal to the modern health-conscious consumers, and better compete with the upscale burger joints.
McDonald's newest product was "Create Your Taste", a program that let people build their own fancy $12 burgers with gourmet toppings like guacamole, mushrooms, and brioche buns.
They added 3 more fancy sandwiches to the menu permanently, the Bacon Clubhouse, Premium Crispy Chicken Clubhouse, and the Premium Grilled Chicken Bacon Clubhouse.
Even the Dollar Menu got its own premium new addition, the Jalapeno Double.
All of these items flopped.
Beyond the short-lived viral buzz, consumers were not about to start going to McDonald's for fancy burgers.
