Which McDonaldland character was styled as the mayor of the fictional town?

Mayor McCheese was McDonaldland's character styled as the mayor of the fictional town.

Mayor McCheese had a human body and a large cheeseburger for a head, combining a civic title with McDonald's most recognizable food imagery. He appeared in the same family-oriented advertising universe as Ronald McDonald, Grimace, the Hamburglar, and other characters.

The character helped turn menu symbolism into branding. Rather than simply showing a cheeseburger in a product advertisement, McDonald's made the burger a personality with a role, costume, and place in an imaginary community. That approach made the character easier for children to remember and allowed commercials to use recurring stories.

Mayor McCheese is sometimes confused with Officer Big Mac or Captain Crook, who also belonged to the McDonaldland cast. Their titles and appearances were different. Mayor McCheese's defining features were the cheeseburger head and the mayoral role, making him one of the clearest examples of McDonald's food-based character design.