The Hamburglar was McDonald’s character known for stealing hamburgers.
He was one of the central figures in McDonaldland advertising and was defined by his attempts to take hamburgers from the other characters. The original version had a more complicated, older appearance, while the later redesign presented a smaller, childlike character in a black-and-white striped outfit and cape.
The Hamburglar’s name is a direct wordplay combination of “hamburger” and “burglar.” That pun makes him easy to identify, but he is sometimes mixed up with Captain Crook, another McDonaldland villain associated with Filet-O-Fish advertising. The character’s purpose was playful mischief rather than realistic crime, fitting McDonald’s family-oriented advertising world.