McDonald's called its first global brand character world McDonaldland, introduced in 1971.
McDonaldland was a fictional setting created for advertising, especially for children and families. It supplied a shared world for characters such as Ronald McDonald, Grimace, the Hamburglar, and Mayor McCheese, allowing McDonald's to build a recognizable story-based identity around its restaurants and products.
The name refers to the fictional advertising universe, not to a restaurant format or a physical theme park. McDonald's used the setting in television commercials, in-store promotions, packaging, and later playground-related experiences.
McDonaldland is sometimes confused with PlayPlace, which was a restaurant playground concept, or with the Golden Arches, the company's logo symbol. Those were separate branding elements. McDonaldland's importance was its coordinated cast and setting: it turned individual mascots into a connected fictional world that could support long-running campaigns.