McDonald's original mascot was called Speedee.
Speedee appeared in McDonald's branding from 1948, when the restaurant introduced its Speedee Service System. The character was a smiling chef, reflecting the brothers' emphasis on fast, standardized food preparation rather than the later family-oriented McDonaldland universe.
Ronald McDonald eventually replaced Speedee as the chain's best-known mascot. Speedee is sometimes confused with the later Hamburglar or with the McDonaldland characters introduced during the 1960s. The name also resembles “speedy,” but the branded mascot's canonical name was Speedee, spelled with the final “ee.”