Which McDonald’s character was created as a hamburger thief in 1971?

The McDonald’s character created as a hamburger thief in 1971 was the Hamburglar.

The Hamburglar was introduced as part of McDonaldland, McDonald’s fictional advertising universe. His defining trait was an obsession with stealing hamburgers, especially McDonald’s signature burgers. The character’s name combined “hamburger” with the word “burglar.”

The original Hamburglar had a more elaborate and somewhat sinister appearance. Later redesigns made him shorter, younger-looking, and more cartoonish, with a black-and-white striped outfit and a red cape. These changes helped keep the character suitable for family-focused advertising.

The Hamburglar is sometimes mixed up with Grimace because both were McDonaldland characters introduced in the same broad period. Their roles were different: Grimace was associated with an appetite for shakes in his early form, while the Hamburglar’s central story was hamburger theft.