McDonald’s advertising world featuring Ronald McDonald and the Hamburglar was called McDonaldland.
McDonaldland was introduced in the early 1970s as a colorful fictional setting for McDonald’s television commercials, promotions, and merchandise. It included characters such as Mayor McCheese, Grimace, Birdie the Early Bird, and the Hamburglar, each linked to the chain’s family-oriented branding.
The campaign gave McDonald’s a shared story world rather than relying only on product shots or a single mascot. Children could recognize recurring characters, while the restaurants and menu items were presented as parts of an imaginative landscape.
McDonaldland is sometimes confused with later McDonald’s slogans, restaurant programs, or the unrelated term “McWorld.” The name specifically identifies the fictional advertising setting and its cast of branded characters.