The Hamburglar was the McDonald’s mascot known for stealing hamburgers in the brand’s early 1970s advertising.
The character was part of McDonaldland and was defined by a playful obsession with hamburgers. His black-and-white outfit, cape, and exaggerated speech made him visually and verbally distinctive in television commercials and other promotional material.
The Hamburglar’s appearance changed over time. The original version was more impish and stylized, while later versions were redesigned with a younger, more child-friendly look. Despite those changes, the character’s central branding role remained tied to hamburgers.
The Hamburglar is distinct from Captain Crook, whose product association was the Filet-O-Fish, and from Grimace, whose role was not based on stealing food. The canonical character name includes the article “The.”