Chicken McNuggets gave their name to McDonald’s advertising characters known as the McNugget Buddies.
The McNugget Buddies were anthropomorphic chicken-nugget figures used in McDonald’s promotions and advertising. Their designs presented individual nuggets as playful characters, extending the product’s identity beyond its packaging and menu description.
Chicken McNuggets had been introduced nationally in the United States in 1983. Their popularity gave McDonald’s a major chicken product that could support toys, children’s promotions, and character-based marketing.
The McNugget Buddies are sometimes confused with the chain’s broader McDonaldland cast. Unlike Mayor McCheese or the Hamburglar, they were directly modeled on a specific menu item rather than serving as permanent citizens or officials in the fictional town.