McDonaldland was the fictional town used by McDonald’s character-based advertising from 1971.
The campaign presented McDonaldland as a colorful fantasy world populated by characters connected with McDonald’s products and visual identity. Ronald McDonald served as the central character, while figures such as Grimace, the Hamburglar, Mayor McCheese, and Birdie appeared in commercials and promotional material.
McDonaldland helped McDonald’s create a recognizable children’s marketing universe rather than relying only on restaurant photography or product demonstrations. The characters also appeared on packaging, playgrounds, merchandise, and in-store materials.
McDonaldland is sometimes confused with the name of a particular restaurant play area or with the company’s mascot. It was the setting or fictional world; Ronald McDonald was the principal character associated with it. The campaign’s characters and presentation changed over time, and several original characters were later retired.