McDonald's mascots and characters: from Ronald to Grimace
McDonald's is one of the largest chains of restaurants globally, and it is known for its signature menu items, such as the Chicken McNuggets and the Big Mac. Over the years, the food giant has been synonymous with its commercials and products, featuring iconic characters like Ronald McDonald, the Hamburglar, and Grimace. But what happened to these McDonald's mascots and characters?
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McDonaldland is a McDonald's media franchise and a fictional fantasy world created in 1971 and inhabited by various mascot characters representing items on the McDonald's menu. In addition to being used in advertising to attract juvenile customers, the characters were used as the basis for themed equipment in the play places.
List of McDonald's Mascots and characters
McDonald's is a fantastic world full of kid-friendly characters, both good and evil, whose lives revolve around McDonald's various offerings. While McDonaldland has received less attention since 2003, several characters are still seen in commercials. Here is a list of original McDonald's characters:
| No. | Character |
| 1. | Ronald McDonald |
| 2. | Grimace |
| 3. | Birdie the early bird |
| 4. | Uncle O'Grimacey |
| 5. | The McNugget Buddies |
| 6. | Iam Hungry |
| 7. | Hamburglar |
| 8. | Fry Kids |
| 9. | The Happy Meal Gang |
| 10. | CosM |
1. Ronald McDonald
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The lively, entertaining, and lovable clown that represents McDonald's is called Ronald. He is a favourite across food chains and wears a white and red face paint, red hair, yellow gloves, and a red and white striped long-sleeve shirt.
2. Grimace
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Grimace is one of the creepy McDonald characters and has been around since the 1970s. He has a toothy grin and bushy eyebrows and is known for his slow-witted demeanour.
He was depicted with two pairs of arms used to steal milkshakes and Cokes and was considered McDonald's notorious drinks thief. He was so horrific that he underwent a major character transformation in 1985.
3. Birdie the early bird
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Birdie is an early bird who loves the sun's warm rays but hates to wake up early to see them. The character was introduced in 1980 to boost young consumers' interest in the chain's breakfast menu. Birdie was also the first female McDonald's character, and she is depicted as a poor flyer with a clumsy persona.
4. Uncle O'Grimacey
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Uncle O'Grimacey is a green grimace who delivers delicious treats like St. Patrick's Day with the Shamrock Shake in McDonaldland. He also brings joy and excitement to the part of the world where he lives.
5. The McNugget Buddies
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The McNugget Buddies were created to help promote McDonald's Chicken McNuggets. These buddies resemble a patch of potatoes brought to life.
6. Iam Hungry
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Iam Hungry was a short-lived character introduced in 1998 and dropped in 2001. Self-proclaimed as the vice president of snacking, he is known to be quite annoying, with his constant request for food and his only solution being to feed him.
7. Hamburglar
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Created in 1971, Hamburglar is probably McDonald's most famous villain, despite his chosen career in larceny. He is known to steal hamburgers and cheeseburgers from Ronald.
In 2015, McDonald's returned the Hamburglar to promote a new sirloin burger. In the early 70s, the Hamburglar sported two teeth, had a hook nose, and made a choking-croaking noise.
8. Fry Kids
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Fry Kids are small, shaggy, ball-like creatures with no legs or arms. They are known for running around and spreading their love for McDonald's French fries. They debuted in 1972 and were only two Fry Goblins, but by the 1980s, they were six.
Fry Kid one is yellow, two is red, and three is blue. They added Fry Girls to the mix in 1985 and became the more gender-inclusive Fry Kids.
9. The Happy Meal Gang
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The Happy Meal Gang were introduced in 1978 and redesigned to wear McDonald's uniforms and look like children. They consist of The Happy Meal Hamburger, the Happy Meal Fries, and the Happy Meal Drink. However, their original face slowly disappeared, and new faces emerged.
10. CosMc
Source: UGC
CosMc was a one-eyed alien character that landed in McDonaldland. He has a goofy voice and an amiable demeanour towards Ronald McDonald. The character was used as an inspiration for the spin-off restaurant CosMc's.
What happened to Ronald McDonald?
The food chain was forced to get rid of the cheeky clown despite being one of its most successful marketing strategies. Ronald's reign ended in 2016 when McDonald's pictures of terrifying clowns started to appear on social media for a movie set to be released in two years.
A few weeks later, real-life clown miscreants were spotted running after people to attack them with dangerous objects, leaving people terrified. Critics also claimed he was encouraging children to eat unhealthy, and even doctors put pressure on him to retire.
However, he remains a figure in the Ronald McDonald House Charities Logo, but only his striped arm features. The foundation was established in the 1970s to provide a suitable environment for families of severely sick children in hospitals.
Source: Getty Images
Why did McDonald's get rid of mascots?
The entire McDonaldland crew was dropped in 2003 as McDonald's changed its marketing strategy and introduced more adult-oriented food court outlets. They wanted to be a place where adults eat and they can bring their kids if they wish. The franchise was also heavily criticised for promoting itself directly to children.
Who is Grimace?
Grimace is one of McDonald's hype house mascots. He was first introduced in 1971 as a more sinister character named Evil Grimace and was depicted as mean-looking, scaly, with four arms and no charm. He was later improved to a plush, soft, two-armed blob who only wanted to hang out with Ronald and take McDonald's milkshakes.
How old is Grimace?
The exact date of his birthday is uncertain, though during the Grimace Birthday promotion in June 2023, he was stated to be 52 years old.
Above are some McDonald's Mascots and characters, from Ronald to Grimace. The fictional McDonaldland was created in 1971 for kid-centric commercials and was meant to advertise and entice kids to eat at the food giant.
READ ALSO: McDonald's menu and prices in South Africa (updated for 2024)
Briefly.co.za recently published an article about McDonald's, the world's second-largest chain of fast-food restaurants after Subway, with over 37,000 outlets globally. The franchise launched in South Africa in November 1995, with its first shop set in Blackheath, Gauteng.
The restaurant also offers a wide variety of meals made to your satisfaction. This article highlights McDonald's menu and prices in South Africa.
Source: Briefly News
