Mayor McCheese was McDonald’s fictional mayor character in its 1960s advertising world.
The character had a human body and a large cheeseburger for a head, combining civic imagery with McDonald’s food branding. He appeared in advertisements and promotional materials alongside Ronald McDonald and other characters from the fantasy setting often called McDonaldland.
Mayor McCheese helped McDonald’s turn its brand into a recognizable fictional community. This approach gave children recurring characters and story situations, while allowing the company to display menu items as visual jokes or personalities. The character’s design also made the connection to cheeseburgers unusually direct.
Mayor McCheese is sometimes confused with Officer Big Mac, another character from the same advertising universe. The distinction is straightforward: Mayor McCheese represented the town’s mayor, while Officer Big Mac served a law-enforcement role.