McDonaldland was McDonald's major character-based advertising world created for children in 1971.
The fictional setting placed McDonald's characters in a colorful landscape built around restaurant food and brand imagery. Characters such as Mayor McCheese, the Hamburglar, and Grimace appeared in commercials, promotions, and merchandise connected with the setting.
McDonaldland gave McDonald's a consistent narrative environment rather than a series of unrelated mascots. It also helped the company present its products through recognizable characters and repeated visual locations.
The name is sometimes confused with the individual characters or with the Happy Meal. McDonaldland was the fictional world; the Happy Meal was a separate children’s product introduced nationally in 1979.