McDonaldland was McDonald’s first major character-filled advertising world, introduced in 1971.
The fictional setting gave McDonald’s advertising a shared environment populated by characters such as Ronald McDonald, the Hamburglar, Grimace, and Mayor McCheese. It was designed to make the brand especially appealing to children and families.
McDonaldland appeared in television commercials, restaurant promotions, playground themes, and merchandise. The setting turned individual mascots into a connected cast, giving McDonald’s a recognizable narrative world rather than relying on a single spokesperson.
The campaign later became the subject of legal disputes over similarities to characters from the television program H.R. Pufnstuf. That history can make the term difficult to place, but McDonaldland’s introduction is generally dated to 1971.