McDonaldland was introduced in McDonald's advertising in 1963.
The campaign created a fantasy setting populated by characters connected with McDonald's products and restaurant imagery. Ronald McDonald served as its best-known resident, while later characters included the Hamburglar, Grimace, Birdie the Early Bird, and Mayor McCheese. The setting gave the company a continuing story world for television commercials, packaging, and promotional materials.
McDonaldland was especially important in children's marketing because it transformed ordinary restaurant elements into characters and places. The campaign made fries, milkshakes, hamburgers, and playground visits part of a recognizable fictional universe.
The date can be confused with the introduction of individual characters. Some residents appeared after the setting was established, and their designs changed over time. McDonaldland itself belongs to the 1963 expansion of McDonald's character-based advertising, not to a later mascot redesign.