McDonald's original mascot was Speedee, a chef with a hamburger-shaped head.
Speedee was introduced in 1948, when McDonald's was promoting its faster, self-service restaurant system. The character's name referred to speed, a central selling point of the brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald's redesigned operation.
Speedee appeared in early restaurant signs and advertising before Ronald McDonald became the company's best-known character. The mascot is sometimes confused with Speedee Service System, the name for the fast-food methods developed by the McDonald brothers. Speedee's design also predates the familiar Golden Arches logo.
McDonald's gradually retired Speedee as its branding shifted toward the arches and a larger family of advertising characters. Ronald McDonald became the leading mascot after his 1963 television debut, making Speedee an important but less familiar part of the company's branding history.