Which McDonald’s advertising character was known as the fast-food chain’s mayor?

Mayor McCheese was the fictional mayor in McDonald’s McDonaldland advertising.

The character had a cheeseburger-shaped head, a formal suit, and a mayoral chain, combining the visual language of a civic official with McDonald’s food branding. He appeared alongside Ronald McDonald and other McDonaldland characters in television commercials and promotional material.

Mayor McCheese was part of a broader strategy that made McDonald’s advertising into a recognizable fantasy world for children. The characters gave the brand recurring personalities and settings rather than presenting every commercial as a simple product advertisement.

Mayor McCheese is often confused with Officer Big Mac, another McDonaldland figure whose role was associated with law enforcement. The mayor’s defining title and costume are the clues that identify him.