Which McDonald's mascot was a hamburger-headed mayor in the company's 1970s advertising?

Mayor McCheese was the hamburger-headed mayor in McDonald's 1970s advertising.

The character had a large cheeseburger for a head, formal mayoral clothing, and a sash. He appeared as part of McDonaldland, the fictional setting used to organize McDonald's family-oriented characters and stories. His design turned the restaurant's signature food into a distinctly branded person.

Mayor McCheese belonged to the same advertising world as Ronald McDonald, the Hamburglar, Grimace, Captain Crook, and Birdie. He was not the same character as Officer Big Mac, another McDonaldland figure whose name referenced a menu item. That distinction is useful because several characters had food-based names and exaggerated costumes.

The character became less prominent as McDonald's simplified its mascot strategy and reduced the role of the wider McDonaldland cast. Even so, Mayor McCheese remains one of the clearest examples of the chain's early character-based branding.