McDonald's original 1948 mascot logo was Speedee.
Speedee was drawn as a small chef figure with a hamburger-shaped head and a quick-service theme. The character represented the McDonald brothers' focus on speed after they reorganized their San Bernardino, California, restaurant around a simplified menu and faster production system.
The mascot appeared in early McDonald's signs and promotional material before the Golden Arches became the company's dominant visual symbol. Speedee is sometimes confused with later characters such as Ronald McDonald, but the two belong to different eras of the brand.
The Speedee identity reflected the restaurant's original promise: standardized food served rapidly. As McDonald's expanded through franchising, the arches and the letter M became more recognizable internationally, gradually replacing Speedee in major branding.