The fictional world used in McDonald's character advertising beginning in 1971 was called McDonaldland.
McDonaldland was an imaginative setting populated by characters created for McDonald's marketing. Ronald McDonald served as the central figure, while characters such as Grimace, the Hamburglar, Mayor McCheese, and Birdie the Early Bird appeared in different periods.
The campaign gave McDonald's a shared visual universe for television commercials, restaurant promotions, playgrounds, and merchandise. It was designed especially to appeal to children and make the brand feel like a recognizable place rather than only a restaurant chain.
McDonaldland is sometimes confused with the name of a restaurant or a specific playground attraction. It was primarily a fictional advertising setting. The campaign changed over time, and some characters were retired or used less frequently as McDonald's advertising strategy evolved.