Despite the fast-food giant's global domination, fast-food mascot Ronald McDonald has all but disappeared. In fact, the iconic clown's absence from marketing was so glaring that McDonald's chief competitor, Burger King, even dunked on it with a short-lived advertising campaign called #LonelyNoMore. So, where has Ronald McDonald gone, and will he ever return?

Ronald was once one of the world's most recognizable corporate mascots. He and his fellow McDonald's characters like Grimace and the Hamburglar appeared in a series of television and print ads. In recent years, however, they have mostly faded from view. While Burger King has only further embraced its (also-creepy) mascot — a masked king character — in recent years, and Jack-in-the-Box's clown mascot actively parodies the concept, Ronald McDonald lives on primarily in faded memories of kids' and adults' Happy Meals. A lot happened to Ronald McDonald and, for now, he's stopped being the face of the world's biggest fast-food chain.