3838. Hamburglar

The Hamburglar was a pint-sized burglar who first appeared in March 1971 and was one of the first villains on the commercials. He is dressed in a black-and-white hooped shirt and pants, a red cape, a wide-brimmed hat, and red gloves. His primary object of theft was hamburgers, hence his name. The character, like Grimace, started out as a villain, only he was old, had a long nose, gray hair, and was called the Lone Jogger in some 1970s commercials, sporting a shirt that said "Lone Jogger". Hamburglar spoke in gibberish which was often translated by Captain Crook. He was revised in 1985 where his look changed from a trollish old man to a red-headed Dennis the Menace-type child who spoke, wore a shorter brimmed hat, and a black cape with yellow in the inside. Previously his unintelligible muttering became the familiar "robble robble." In the 2000s, McDonald's experimented with the possibility of animating the characters to improve ratings. In "The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald," he takes on a new sporty appearance wearing green goggles, a leather jacket, striped shirt, shorts and sneakers. He loves playing tricks on his friends and still loves burgers. The very last appearances of Hamburglar on television were prime time commercials promoting the dollar menu. One spot featured the Hamburglar and Grimace with Cedric The Entertainer, and the very last spot featured the Hamburglar with tennis stars, Venus and Serena Williams. Various other spots featuring the Hamburglar and characters alongside famous celebrities were planned but were canceled. A conflict emerged between agencies as to whether to continue using the characters or follow through with ad agency Leo Burnett's desire to elevate the "I'm lovin' it" campaign and phase out the characters completely. The later was chosen, and the Hamburglar and the McDonaldland characters were retired. Hamburglar was voiced by Howard Morris in most commercials, Charlie Adler in some 1980s commercials and 'The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald, and Carl W. Wolfe in some 1990s commercials.