McDonald's introduced the McDonaldland advertising world in 1971.
The campaign created a fantasy setting populated by branded characters, including the Hamburglar, Mayor McCheese, Birdie, and Grimace. These figures appeared in television commercials and other promotional material aimed especially at children and families.
McDonaldland gave McDonald's a connected cast rather than relying on a single mascot. The characters helped turn menu items, restaurants, and promotions into parts of a recognizable fictional world.
The year is sometimes confused with the dates when individual characters first appeared or changed design. McDonaldland itself belongs to the early 1970s, while Ronald McDonald had already been used as the company's principal mascot since the 1960s. The advertising world also faced legal disputes over similarities to characters from the television program H.R. Pufnstuf.