Grimace was introduced by McDonald's in 1971 as a large purple character associated with an enormous appetite.
The character originally had a more unusual design and was presented as a milkshake thief before the company revised his personality and appearance. Grimace later became a friendly, simple-minded member of the McDonaldland cast and one of the brand's most recognizable supporting characters.
His design helped McDonald's build a visual world around its food and restaurants. Instead of representing a menu item directly, Grimace functioned as a personality who could appear alongside Ronald McDonald and other characters in advertising.
The year is sometimes confused with the debuts of other McDonaldland figures. Birdie the Early Bird arrived in 1980, while Grimace belongs to the earlier 1971 expansion of the character lineup.