In the era of start-ups, "failure breeds success" has become somewhat of a cliché mantra. And yet, if you also buy into the well-worn saying that there's a grain of truth in every cliché, then McDonald's must owe at least some of its supersized success to its epic failures. Because for every Big Mac and Filet-O-Fish, there have also been the more head-scratching and even humiliating likes of the Hula Burger and the McLean Deluxe (known in insider circles as the "McFlopper").
One can chalk up many McDonald's failures to flawed, unappealing, or simply ridiculous products. But there were also promising items that fizzled out due to botched packaging, pricing, and/or public relations.
