The Big Mac became McDonald’s signature sandwich after its national launch in 1968.
The sandwich was created by Jim Delligatti, a McDonald’s franchisee who operated restaurants in the Pittsburgh area. It used two beef patties, a middle piece of bread, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, and the sauce now associated with the product. The unusual three-part bun gave it a distinctive appearance and helped separate it from McDonald’s standard hamburger.
Delligatti had tested the sandwich locally before McDonald’s introduced it across the United States. Its name and layered construction made it especially useful for advertising and international brand recognition. The Big Mac later became a reference point for comparing prices between countries through The Economist’s Big Mac Index.
The Quarter Pounder is another major McDonald’s sandwich, but it was introduced later, in 1971. The Big Mac’s defining branding feature is its middle bun layer.