Hamburglar
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The Hamburglar is a fictional character used in marketing campaigns for McDonald's restaurants. The character was originally introduced as part of the McDonaldland campaign in 1971, aimed at young children. He is also known as Dozer in some parts of the world. The commercials typically followed the same plotline: the Hamburglar steals McDonald's hamburgers, Ronald McDonald devises a plan to trick him, and everybody gets their hamburgers back. He dresses in a black-and-white hooped shirt and pants, a red cape, and a wide-brimmed hat. Hamburglar was portrayed by actors Frankie Delfino and Tommy Vicini. His vocabulary consisted of nothing other than, "Robble, robble, robble."(on occasions he would say single words along with "robble", such as "Robble robble cheeseburger!" The voice was originally provided by Howard Morris. Charlie Adler also provided his voice in the 1980s and on the Wacky Adventures of Ronald MacDonald videos. Although he is a thief, he is still considered a friend of Ronald McDonald and the rest of the McDonaldland gang, who appear to tolerate his kleptomania as an eccentricity.
The design of the character changed from the 1970s to 1980s from a more sinister to a more cartoonish face. The age of the character has also changed, as originally he was depicted as an older man, but today is shown as a less sinister young boy. In addition, his vocabulary has been expanded; he now speaks ordinary English, though he continues to use "rabble rabble" to occasionally punctuate his speech. Despite the changes, he is one of the longest lasting icons of McDonald's advertising campaigns, surpassing many such as Captain Crook, another thief mainly known for stealing McDonald's Filet-O-Fish sandwiches.
Today's commercials focus mainly on the Ronald McDonald character. However, Hamburglar is still one of the core McDonaldland characters, appearing in the actual restaurants and associated merchandise. Despite this, there has been recent controversy over the image the Hamburglar presents to children. Specifically, parental organizations have begun to lobby McDonald's for the removal of this character because he presents theft as a justifiable means of acquiring sustenance.
In Brazil, Hamburglar is known by the name Papaburguer. In Japan, he is known as "Shintaro". In Germany, he is known as the "Hamburgerklau". In the UK he is no longer used in any advertising or promotions.