Ronald McDonald was introduced by McDonald’s in 1963 as a clown mascot who carried a hamburger-shaped container.
The character first appeared in a Washington, D.C., television commercial. Actor Willard Scott portrayed the early version of Ronald, whose costume included a tray-like hamburger hat and other food-themed elements.
McDonald’s later refined Ronald’s appearance into the red-haired clown recognized worldwide. He became the central human-like figure in the McDonaldland advertising universe and appeared in commercials, restaurant promotions, and charitable campaigns.
Ronald is sometimes confused with McDonaldland characters such as Mayor McCheese or the Hamburglar. Those characters were part of the same fictional advertising world, but Ronald was specifically the clown mascot introduced in 1963.