Mayor McCheese is the McDonald’s character introduced in 1971 with a large cheeseburger-shaped head.
The character appeared as the mayor of McDonaldland, the fictional advertising setting used to connect McDonald’s food with colorful fantasy figures. Mayor McCheese wore formal mayoral clothing, including a sash, and his oversized hamburger head made him visually distinctive in television commercials and promotional materials.
His design belonged to an era when McDonald’s branding relied heavily on a connected cast of characters. The group included Ronald McDonald, the Hamburglar, Grimace, and other figures tied to restaurant products or playful food imagery.
Mayor McCheese is sometimes mixed up with Officer Big Mac, whose head was shaped like a Big Mac. The names reflect different McDonald’s menu references: Mayor McCheese used a cheeseburger image, while Officer Big Mac used the Big Mac image.