What 1970s McDonald's character represented the company's fictional McDonaldland mayor?

Mayor McCheese was the fictional mayor of McDonaldland in McDonald’s advertising during the 1970s.

McDonaldland was a fantasy setting populated by branded characters, including Mayor McCheese, Grimace, Captain Crook, and the Hamburglar. The campaign gave McDonald’s a story world that could appear in television commercials, promotional materials, restaurant displays, and licensed merchandise.

Mayor McCheese was designed as a humanlike mayor with a large cheeseburger for a head. That visual linked the character directly to a McDonald’s menu item while making him instantly distinct from ordinary human spokespeople.

The character is sometimes confused with Ronald McDonald, who was the company’s primary clown mascot, or with Officer Big Mac, another McDonaldland figure. These characters had different roles within the fictional setting. McDonaldland branding later declined as McDonald’s advertising moved toward product, family, lifestyle, and corporate campaigns, but its characters remain a notable part of the company’s branding history.