Speedee was the McDonald's mascot before Ronald McDonald was introduced. The character was a small chef with a hamburger-shaped head, reflecting the restaurant's early focus on fast service and hamburgers.
Speedee appeared in McDonald's branding beginning in 1948, when Richard and Maurice McDonald developed their Speedee Service System in San Bernardino, California. The system emphasized a limited menu, assembly-line preparation, and quick customer service.
Ronald McDonald gradually replaced Speedee as the company's most visible mascot during the 1960s. Other McDonaldland characters, including the Hamburglar, Mayor McCheese, and Grimace, came later and belonged to a broader fictional advertising world.
A common mix-up is assuming the Hamburglar was McDonald's original mascot. He was one of the later McDonaldland characters, while Speedee belonged to the restaurant's earlier operational and visual identity. The name also echoed the McDonald's brothers' original “Speedee Service” concept.