Mayor McCheese was introduced in 1971 as McDonaldland’s resident cheeseburger mayor.
The character had a large cheeseburger for a head and wore a mayoral sash and formal clothing. He appeared in McDonald’s advertising alongside Ronald McDonald and other fictional residents of McDonaldland, a fantasy setting created to make the brand especially appealing to children.
Mayor McCheese was one of several food-themed characters. Grimace, the Hamburglar, Captain Crook, and other figures occupied distinct roles in the same advertising universe. Their designs helped McDonald’s turn individual menu items and restaurant themes into a broader story world.
Mayor McCheese is sometimes mixed up with Officer Big Mac, another McDonaldland character whose head was shaped like a Big Mac. The mayor’s defining feature was the cheeseburger head, not the Big Mac-shaped design.