McDonald's original hamburger-selling mascot was Speedee.
Speedee was introduced in 1948, when Richard and Maurice McDonald reorganized their San Bernardino, California, restaurant around a faster, simpler service system. The character was a smiling chef with a hamburger-shaped head, and his name emphasized the restaurant's focus on speed.
Speedee appeared in early McDonald's signs, packaging, and advertising before the Golden Arches became the company's dominant visual symbol. The mascot helped communicate the restaurant's central promise: standardized food served quickly and affordably.
Ronald McDonald eventually replaced Speedee as the best-known character in the brand's advertising. Because the name is sometimes spelled or remembered as “Speedy,” it is useful to distinguish the official mascot name, Speedee, from later McDonald's characters and slogans.