McDonaldland was the fantasy advertising world populated by Ronald McDonald and his friends.
McDonaldland gave McDonald’s a shared setting for television commercials, packaging, restaurant promotions, and licensed merchandise. Its characters included Grimace, the Hamburglar, Birdie, and Mayor McCheese, alongside Ronald McDonald.
The setting became especially prominent during the 1970s, when fast-food companies used memorable characters and fictional worlds to appeal to children and families. McDonaldland was not the name of a restaurant chain or a menu line; it was a branding environment.
Some characters and designs changed over time, and McDonald’s reduced the use of the full fictional world in later decades. Ronald McDonald nevertheless remained a separate and more durable symbol of the company.