Ronald McDonald was McDonald's first nationally advertised character, created for television in 1963.
McDonald's introduced Ronald McDonald in a 1963 television commercial in the Washington, D.C., area. The character was played initially by Willard Scott, who had also performed as a local television clown named Bozo.
Ronald's costume used recognizable McDonald's imagery, including a paper-cup nose and a tray-like hat in his earliest appearance. The character was then developed into the central figure of a larger fictional world used in McDonald's advertising and restaurant branding.
The Hamburglar, Grimace, Mayor McCheese and other characters joined the McDonaldland cast later. Because Ronald became the company's best-known mascot, people sometimes assume he was introduced alongside all of the other characters; historically, his television debut preceded them.