What was the name of McDonald’s striped-shirt hamburger thief mascot?

McDonald’s striped-shirt hamburger thief mascot was called the Hamburglar.

The Hamburglar was introduced in 1971 as part of the McDonaldland group of characters. Early versions were depicted as a small, mischievous figure with a more complex appearance; later redesigns made him shorter, younger-looking, and more cartoon-like.

His branding role was easy to understand: he tried to steal hamburgers, while McDonald’s presented the restaurant and its food as the center of a playful fantasy world. The character commonly appeared alongside Ronald McDonald, Grimace, and other McDonaldland figures.

The Hamburglar should not be confused with Mayor McCheese, whose design combined a mayoral outfit with a cheeseburger head. Both belonged to McDonaldland, but they represented different character ideas.