McDonald’s first nationally advertised sandwich with two beef patties and special sauce was the Big Mac.
The Big Mac was created by Jim Delligatti, a McDonald’s franchisee in the Pittsburgh area, and introduced in 1967. Its distinctive three-part bun, two beef patties, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, and sauce made it visually and functionally different from the company’s simpler hamburgers and cheeseburgers.
The sandwich became an important product brand within McDonald’s. Its name was short, memorable, and easy to recognize in advertisements. The Big Mac’s stacked construction also gave McDonald’s a signature menu item that could be promoted separately from the core hamburger line.
The sandwich was first tested regionally before becoming available nationally in 1968. A common mix-up is confusing its launch year with its national rollout: 1967 refers to the initial introduction, while 1968 marks the wider United States launch. The recipe and presentation have changed in minor ways across markets and periods, but the two-patty identity remains central to the brand.