McDonaldland introduced Captain Crook in 1971 as a pirate character associated with stealing Filet-O-Fish sandwiches.
Captain Crook was designed as a flamboyant pirate with a distinctive nautical costume and accent. His advertising role connected him specifically with the Filet-O-Fish, allowing McDonald’s to turn a menu item into a recognizable character association.
He belonged to the same fictional McDonaldland cast as Ronald McDonald, Mayor McCheese, Grimace, and the Hamburglar. The campaign used recurring characters and a shared setting rather than presenting every commercial as an unrelated advertisement.
Captain Crook is often mixed up with the Hamburglar because both characters were portrayed as food thieves. Their targets and designs were different: Captain Crook was linked to Filet-O-Fish, while the Hamburglar was associated with hamburgers.