The Hamburglar was the McDonald’s character designed as a villain who stole hamburgers in the company’s advertising world.
The Hamburglar appeared as part of McDonaldland, the fictional setting created for McDonald’s character-based commercials and promotions. His defining behavior was attempting to take hamburgers, while Ronald McDonald and the other characters represented the friendly side of the brand. The character’s black-and-white striped clothing and later red hair helped make him visually distinctive.
McDonald’s substantially redesigned the Hamburglar in 1998, giving him a more modern, childlike appearance. That redesign is sometimes mistaken for the character’s original look, but the Hamburglar had appeared in earlier forms for decades. His role was a fictional advertising device, not a depiction of real criminal activity.