McDonald’s was once populated by a merry band of buddies for Ronald McDonald, but the gang had until recently begun to fade into folklore.
Even Ronald himself has struggled to weather McDonald’s shift away from whimsical, kid-friendly stylings to the modern, corporate aesthetic that’s become typical of its franchises around the world.
The inhabitants of McDonaldland were introduced through the 70s and 80s, with the first ad featuring the gang appearing in 1971.
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Characters included; Ronald McDonald, Evil Grimace (later the reformed Grimace), the Hamburglar, CosMc, the Fry Kids, and Birdie the Early Bird, among others.
McDonaldland was presided over by none other than Mayor McCheese, a purple-coated figure with a hamburger for a head, a top hat, a mayoral sash, and button boots.
The Mayor was a regular fixture in McDonald’s 1970s ad campaigns, but by the late 80s he was already becoming a fringe figure in McDonaldland.
In fact, he’s only been involved in McDonald’s marketing once since the turn of the century, appearing in a 2001 episode of The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald. Even then, he was only present via the time-travelling shenanigans of the episode, with the gang visiting the McDonaldland of 1975 where the Mayor was still in his pomp.
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As to why the Mayor fell out of favour, it was all down to a 1977 court case: Sid & Marty Krofft Television Productions Inc. v. McDonald's Corp.
The Kroffts claimed that Mayor McCheese was overly similar in design to H.R. Pufnstuf, a 1960s character from the kids’ show H.R. Pufnstuf. Backing the claim, the Kroffts had been approached by an agency working for McDonald’s over their characters appearing in a 1970 ad campaign.
While that campaign didn’t go ahead, Mayor McCheese’s inception came in the following years, spurring plagiarism concerns.
"'Pufnstuf' wears what can only be described as a yellow and green dragon suit with a blue cummerbund from which hangs a medal which says 'mayor',” said McDonald’s defence team.
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“'McCheese' wears a version of pink formal dress — 'tails' — with knicker trousers. He has a typical diplomat's sash on which is written 'mayor', the 'M' consisting of the McDonald's trademark of an 'M' made of golden arches."
The argument didn’t wash with the court, which ultimately decided the similarities were too strong and that it was unlikely to be coincidental.
McDonald’s paid damages to the Kroffts, and the death knell was rung for Mayor McCheese.
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As flamboyant figures from the 70s go, there were worse ways for Mayor McCheese to get cancelled.
Rachael Davis