Ronald McDonald

The clown, that is now known today by 96% of students in America, was first seen in 1963. Originally, the clown was in McDonald-land, and the advertisements on TV would be about his adventures. More recently, Ronald McDonald has shifted to being around normal kids in normal activities. This helped promote the idea that because the clown was friendly to children, McDonald's was a good family restaurant to eat at.
  In the real world Ronald McDonald is a figure too. He visits kids who are sick in hospitals, hoping they will feel better. Also Ronald has his own house, "The Ronald McDonald House" which is a sanitary place for adults to stay, while their children are at hospitals.
  The first person to play the clown was Willard Scott. In his book he claims that he created the clown, but two other employees, George Voorhis and Terry Teene. They claimed that together, in the beginning of 1963 they made the clown, with his french fries pockets together. However McDonald's still claims today that Voorhis and Teene had nothing to do with the clown.
  There are 12 different actors that during some time have been the clown on ads. Some of them were clowns during the same year as others. With all of the success with Ronald McDonald. The cheery figure is the second most known figures by kids in America after Santa Claus.
-Jesse Fajnzylber