The fictional advertising world McDonald’s introduced in 1971 for its character-based branding was McDonaldland.
McDonaldland provided the setting for Ronald McDonald and other branded characters, including Grimace, the Hamburglar, Mayor McCheese, and Birdie. Television commercials presented the setting as a colorful place built around McDonald’s food and restaurant imagery.
The campaign helped McDonald’s distinguish its advertising from ordinary product commercials. Rather than showing only burgers and restaurants, the company created a recurring fictional environment that could support stories, costumes, toys, and promotional appearances.
McDonaldland is not the same thing as the restaurant chain’s corporate name or its children’s play areas. It was an advertising universe, and many of its characters were later used less prominently as McDonald’s marketing style changed.