Which McDonald’s character was styled as a striped-shirted thief?

The Hamburglar was McDonald’s striped-shirted thief character.

The Hamburglar was introduced in 1971 as part of the McDonaldland advertising world. The character’s comic role was to try to steal hamburgers, creating a simple recurring conflict for commercials and children’s promotions. His striped clothing, mask, and exaggerated manner made him visually distinctive.

The character changed substantially over time. The original Hamburglar was a smaller, older-looking figure with a more elaborate costume, while later advertising presented him as a younger and more streamlined character. The redesign made him easier for children to identify and fit the cleaner style of McDonald’s late-twentieth-century branding.

The Hamburglar is sometimes confused with other McDonaldland figures because many shared similar costumes and cartoon proportions. His defining trait, however, was his repeated attempts to take hamburgers.