McDonald’s clown mascot first introduced in national advertising during the 1960s was Ronald McDonald.
Ronald McDonald was created as a friendly clown figure who could make the restaurant especially appealing to children. Although the character appeared in a local television commercial in 1963, national advertising soon made Ronald a central part of McDonald’s public identity.
His costume combined clown makeup with McDonald’s visual cues, including the company’s colors and food-related details. The design changed over the years, but the character consistently served as a welcoming guide to the brand’s family-oriented image.
Ronald was later presented as the leading figure in McDonaldland, alongside characters such as Grimace and the Hamburglar. His prominence declined in many markets during the 2010s, but he remains one of the most recognizable mascots in advertising history.