Which McDonald's character was a hamburger-shaped mayor introduced in 1971?

Mayor McCheese was the hamburger-shaped mayor introduced by McDonald's in 1971.

Mayor McCheese became one of the central characters in McDonaldland, the fictional world used in McDonald's advertising. His design combined a human body with a large hamburger head, along with a mayoral sash and formal clothing. The character appeared alongside Ronald McDonald and other branded figures.

McDonaldland gave McDonald's a way to present the restaurant as a playful place for children. The campaign used characters, fantasy settings, and recognizable food-shaped designs to make the brand easier to remember and more appealing to families.

A common mistake is to identify the character as the Hamburglar, but the Hamburglar was a separate character associated with stealing hamburgers. Mayor McCheese's defining role was civic leadership within the McDonaldland fictional universe.