Which McDonald's character is a clown and the chain's best-known mascot?

Ronald McDonald is the clown character and best-known mascot of McDonald's.

The character was created for McDonald's advertising in the 1960s and was designed to appeal especially to children. Early portrayals used a more elaborate costume, including food-related props, before the character developed the familiar red-and-yellow appearance associated with later campaigns.

Ronald McDonald belongs to a wider group of McDonaldland characters, including the Hamburglar, Grimace, and Mayor McCheese. Those characters appeared together in commercials and promotional material, but Ronald served as the central human-like representative of the brand.

The character's public visibility has changed over time. McDonald's reduced the emphasis on Ronald in some marketing, while still retaining him as a major part of the company's historical branding and charity-related identity.