Mayor McCheese was McDonald’s cheese-themed mayor character introduced in the 1971 McDonaldland campaign.
The character had a large cheeseburger for a head and wore a mayoral sash, turning the restaurant’s food into a recognizable person-like figure. His role gave McDonaldland a civic structure and helped make the fictional setting feel like a complete community.
Mayor McCheese appeared alongside Ronald McDonald, the Hamburglar, Grimace, and other advertising characters. His design was deliberately exaggerated so children could identify him quickly in television commercials, packaging, and promotional material.
The character was later involved in a 1970s legal dispute with the creators of the H.R. Pufnstuf television property. That case is one reason Mayor McCheese is often discussed in histories of McDonald’s character branding.