Which McDonald's character was introduced in 1963 as the mayor of McDonaldland?

Mayor McCheese was the McDonald's character introduced in 1963 as McDonaldland's mayor.

McDonaldland was a fictional setting developed for McDonald's advertising in the 1960s. Its characters turned menu items and restaurant imagery into a shared fantasy world aimed primarily at children. Mayor McCheese had a large cheeseburger for a head and wore formal mayoral clothing, making the character's role immediately recognizable.

He appeared alongside Ronald McDonald and other McDonaldland figures, including the Hamburglar, Grimace, and Captain Crook. Mayor McCheese was a character, not the name of a sandwich or a restaurant mascot from the chain's earlier Speedee era.

The character also became known outside commercials through merchandise and legal history involving Sid and Marty Krofft's H.R. Pufnstuf characters. That dispute did not change Mayor McCheese's established identity as McDonaldland's mayor.