McDonald's called its fictional advertising world McDonaldland when it launched the campaign in 1971.
McDonaldland was a colorful setting populated by characters including Ronald McDonald, Mayor McCheese, Grimace, and the Hamburglar. The campaign gave McDonald's a shared fictional universe that could appear in television commercials, restaurant displays, packaging, and promotional merchandise.
The name is sometimes confused with the individual characters who lived in that world. McDonaldland was the setting, not the name of Ronald McDonald or any single mascot. Its broad cast helped the company appeal especially to children and families.
The campaign became one of the most recognizable examples of character-based fast-food branding. Some characters were later retired or redesigned, but the McDonaldland concept remains an important chapter in McDonald's advertising history.