Which McDonald’s advertising character was created as a hamburger-stealing villain?

The Hamburglar was created as a McDonald’s advertising character who stole hamburgers.

The Hamburglar became part of the McDonaldland cast, a group of fictional characters used in McDonald’s advertising from the 1970s onward. His defining gag was trying to take hamburgers, especially Big Macs, while being stopped or exposed by the other characters.

The character’s costume and appearance changed over time. Early versions were more villainous and were redesigned into a smaller, childlike figure in later advertising. These redesigns explain why historical images of the Hamburglar can look noticeably different.

The Hamburglar is sometimes confused with Officer Big Mac because both were associated with law-and-order stories in McDonaldland. The Hamburglar was the burger thief; Officer Big Mac was the character associated with stopping wrongdoing.