What was the name of McDonald's fictional mayor character introduced in the early 1970s?

McDonald's fictional mayor character introduced in the early 1970s was Mayor McCheese.

Mayor McCheese was one of the central figures in McDonaldland, McDonald's fictional advertising setting. He was depicted as a mayor wearing formal civic clothing, but his head was shaped like a cheeseburger. The design turned a familiar menu item into a character that children could recognize immediately.

The character appeared alongside Ronald McDonald, the Hamburglar, Grimace, and other figures in commercials and promotional material. His role was different from the Hamburglar's comic appetite and Ronald's leading mascot status: Mayor McCheese represented the imagined community in which the characters lived.

The name is sometimes confused with the Big Mac character, which was a separate McDonaldland figure. Mayor McCheese was specifically the civic leader with the cheeseburger head. McDonald's later reduced its use of the broader McDonaldland cast, but the character remains a notable part of the brand's advertising history.