McDonald's used the name Speedee for its smiling chef mascot before adopting Ronald McDonald.
Speedee represented the McDonald brothers' Speedee Service System, introduced in the late 1940s to emphasize rapid, standardized food preparation. The mascot was typically shown as a chef with a hamburger-like head, making the restaurant's product and service promise immediately visible in one symbol.
Ronald McDonald later became the company's best-known character, but he did not replace Speedee overnight in every form of branding. The Golden Arches, restaurant architecture, signage, and product-focused advertising also became increasingly important as McDonald's expanded.
A common mistake is to treat Speedee as a later nickname for Ronald McDonald. They were separate characters from different stages of the company's history. Speedee belongs to the restaurant's early operational branding, while Ronald belonged to the later family-oriented advertising system.