Ronald McDonald debuted in 1963 as McDonald's first major television advertising mascot.
The character was introduced as a clown associated with McDonald's food and restaurants. Willard Scott portrayed Ronald in early television commercials, helping the chain establish a friendly, child-oriented personality that could appear in recurring advertising stories.
Ronald is sometimes mistaken for McDonald's original mascot, but that role belonged to Speedee, the hamburger-headed figure used from 1948. Ronald's arrival marked a shift toward character-based branding aimed especially at families and children. Other characters, including Grimace and the Hamburglar, were added later.
Ronald McDonald became central to the McDonaldland advertising world, a fictional setting populated by branded characters. Although the character's prominence and public use changed in different markets and periods, his 1960s debut remains a major milestone in McDonald's branding history.