The Hamburglar first appeared in McDonald's advertising in 1971 as a character who loved stealing hamburgers.
He became part of McDonaldland, a fictional world created for McDonald's marketing. Early versions of the character were portrayed as an older, somewhat sinister figure, but later campaigns redesigned him as a smaller, more child-friendly character.
The Hamburglar's striped clothing, mask, and cape made him visually distinctive. His repeated attempts to take hamburgers gave commercials a simple story that children could recognize immediately.
The character is often confused with other McDonaldland figures such as Grimace or Mayor McCheese. Unlike those characters, the Hamburglar's central role was defined by his comic obsession with hamburgers and his attempts to outwit Ronald McDonald.