Mayor McCheese was the McDonald's mascot depicted as a cheese-headed mayor.
The character was part of McDonaldland, McDonald's fictional advertising setting for children. His design combined a human body and formal mayoral clothing with a large cheeseburger-like head, making the character instantly connect civic imagery with the restaurant's food.
Mayor McCheese appeared alongside Ronald McDonald, Grimace, the Hamburglar, and other fictional figures. He represented one of the more elaborate visual jokes in the campaign: a familiar public official reimagined through McDonald's menu branding.
The character is sometimes confused with Officer Big Mac, another McDonaldland figure whose name and design were based on a menu item. Mayor McCheese's distinctive identifying feature is the cheese-topped burger head and mayoral role, not a police uniform or a theft-related storyline.