McDonaldland was the name McDonald's used for its fictional world of mascots and locations in 1970s advertising.
The setting gave McDonald's characters a shared environment rather than presenting them as unrelated spokespeople. Ronald McDonald served as the central figure, while characters such as the Hamburglar, Grimace, Mayor McCheese, and the Fry Kids appeared in stories, commercials, packaging, and restaurant promotions.
McDonaldland included imaginative places and objects connected to menu items. This approach made the brand resemble a recurring children's television universe and helped create familiarity across advertising campaigns. The characters could then be used to introduce products, encourage restaurant visits, or provide entertainment without changing the basic brand identity.
McDonaldland is sometimes confused with a specific restaurant attraction or a single television program. It was primarily an advertising setting and fictional brand universe. Its prominence declined as McDonald's moved toward different marketing styles, although many of its characters remained recognizable parts of the company's history.