Mayor McCheese was the McDonaldland character introduced in 1971 as a hamburger-headed mayor.
McDonaldland was a fictional setting created for McDonald’s advertising, populated by colorful characters linked to menu items and restaurant themes. Mayor McCheese was one of its most recognizable figures, wearing a mayoral sash and having a large cheeseburger for a head.
The character appeared alongside Ronald McDonald, Grimace, the Hamburglar, and other figures in television commercials and promotional material. His design made the connection between McDonald’s food and its fantasy advertising world immediately clear to children.
Mayor McCheese is sometimes confused with Officer Big Mac, whose head was also based on a McDonald’s sandwich. The two were separate McDonaldland characters, with Mayor McCheese serving as the town’s elected official.