McDonald's created the fictional advertising world called McDonaldland.
McDonaldland was introduced in the early 1970s as a colorful setting for McDonald's commercials, promotions, and character-based marketing. Ronald McDonald appeared there with figures such as the Hamburglar, Grimace, Mayor McCheese, and Birdie the Early Bird.
The campaign turned menu items and restaurant ideas into fantasy characters and locations. That approach made the brand especially memorable to children and supported toys, playground themes, packaging, and other family-oriented promotions.
McDonaldland is sometimes treated as though it were a real theme park or a single television series. It was instead a fictional advertising universe used across many forms of McDonald's marketing. Its characters and story world changed over time.