Mayor McCheese was the McDonaldland character known as the town's mayor.
Mayor McCheese appeared as a person with a large cheeseburger for a head, wearing a suit, sash, and mayoral accessories. The character turned the idea of a civic official into a playful food-based figure and gave McDonaldland a recognizable leader. He appeared in McDonald's advertising during the 1960s and 1970s.
His design was part of a wider branding strategy in which menu items and restaurant themes became inhabitants of a fictional world. Other characters served different roles: the Hamburglar was a mischievous burger thief, while Grimace was associated with milkshakes in his early concept.
Mayor McCheese is often mixed up with Officer Big Mac because both were authority figures in McDonaldland. Their names and appearances were different: Mayor McCheese had the cheeseburger head, while Officer Big Mac had a Big Mac-themed head and police role.