Which McDonald's character was originally presented as a hamburger-stealing villain?

The Hamburglar was originally presented as a hamburger-stealing villain in McDonald's advertising.

The character was introduced as part of McDonaldland's cast in the early 1970s. His defining story was simple: he tried to take hamburgers, especially from McDonald's, while Ronald McDonald and the other characters opposed him. His name combined “hamburger” with “burglar.”

The first version of the Hamburglar looked quite different from the smaller, child-friendly character many viewers later recognized. He was redesigned in 1975, receiving a more compact appearance and the familiar striped clothing, cape, and wide-brimmed hat.

Despite the criminal theme, the character was presented as comic and harmless rather than frightening. The Hamburglar became one of the clearest examples of McDonald's turning a product category into a memorable character. A common mistake is to identify him as a general McDonaldland mascot without noting his specific hamburger-stealing role.