Grimace is the purple McDonald’s advertising character first introduced in 1971.
Grimace debuted as part of McDonaldland, the fictional world used in McDonald’s advertising. Early versions of the character were more unusual and had multiple arms, but the design was simplified into the large, friendly purple figure widely recognized today. His role eventually centered on a cheerful love of McDonald’s milkshakes.
Grimace is often mixed up with the Hamburglar, who is dressed as a small burglar, or Birdie, a yellow bird associated with breakfast. Those characters belong to the same advertising universe but have different designs and names. Grimace’s long-running presence made him one of the most recognizable McDonald’s characters, even though he was introduced after the company’s original chef mascot, Speedee.