McDonald’s called its first major character-based advertising setting McDonaldland, launched in 1971.
The campaign created a shared fictional environment where Ronald McDonald and other branded characters could interact. Rather than presenting isolated mascots, McDonaldland gave the characters recurring relationships, locations, and story situations.
This approach helped McDonald’s build a recognizable children’s advertising identity around the restaurant and its menu. Characters such as Mayor McCheese, the Hamburglar, Grimace, and Birdie the Early Bird became associated with the setting.
McDonaldland is distinct from Hamburger University, which is a real McDonald’s training institution, and from the Speedee Service System, which describes the company’s early restaurant operating model. The name refers specifically to the fictional advertising world.