Which McDonald’s character was introduced as the company’s mayor in 1971?

Mayor McCheese was introduced as the mayor of McDonaldland in 1971. He was a large character with a cheeseburger-shaped head, combining a civic role with one of McDonald’s signature menu items.

McDonaldland was a fictional setting created for McDonald’s advertising and children’s promotions. It included Ronald McDonald and a group of imaginative characters designed to make the restaurant’s brand world more engaging. Mayor McCheese’s title gave the character a recognizable place within that fictional community.

He is sometimes confused with Officer Big Mac, another McDonaldland character whose role was associated with law enforcement. Grimace also belongs to the same broad advertising universe, but he was not the mayor. These characters served different functions in McDonald’s storytelling and merchandise.

The character’s 1971 introduction illustrates how McDonald’s branding expanded beyond logos and slogans into a connected cast of recurring figures.