Disturbing reason you never see iconic McDonald’s clown in adverts anymore

Some people will remember the joy that came with a trip to Maccies as a child, and the treat that came with your Happy Meal being one of the best things about a day out.

Another familiar occurrence on those visits to McDonald's would be the friendly face (for some) of Ronald McDonald that would greet you on your way in before munching down on their legendary fries.

However, when it comes to younger generations, you may as well show them a picture of an alien, because you just don't see the famous boiler suit man sporting a white face and a bright red wig anymore.

Why is that, though?

Where have you been, Ronald? (Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images)

It all started in the 1960s, when the American fast food chain started McDonaldland, where characters like Grimace, Mayor McCheese and the Hamburglar hung out with the clown, with the marketing ploy working a treat.

Children would get toys with their happy meals and look forward to building their collections, while Ronald himself became a legend in popular culture as the face of the franchise.

People loved or hated him, no in-between, but he was always there when you nipped in for a quick McNuggets or McFlurry.

But you may have noticed lately that he's nowhere to be seen. It's not to do with the character himself or the chain, though.

Ronald still makes some appearances in public, though scarce (Marcus Ingram/Getty Images for the McDonalds All American Games)

If you think about the last time you saw that red smile in a restaurant, you'll probably struggle.

It was 2016, the Mannequin challenge and the 'whip and nae nae' took the world by storm on social media, but one other unsettling trend made headlines as well that summer.

I'm talking about the bizarre trend of killer clowns, or people pretending to be killer clowns, sending the public into a frenzy for a short period of time, as the masked weirdoes chased people around with knives and masks.

A truly weird time for the internet, the same people would post snaps of them looking odd to social media, though it eventually got out of hand as schools started to be targeted across the US, Canada, Australia, and even the UK.

Initially starting out as a marketing stunt for an upcoming horror film, some took it too far and it became something to genuinely be scared of.

Killer clowns running around wasn't ideal for the restaurant (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

In fact, it even resulted in a Floridian family being attacked by 20 people in clown masks, while the Sun reported a person pulling out a knife while wearing a clown mask and chasing a boy while he was on his way to school.

Police lines were also flooded with complaints, as clowns became horrific to everyone, overnight.

At the time, McDonald's released a statement, reading: "McDonald's and franchisees in the local markets are mindful of the current climate around clown sightings in communities and as such are being thoughtful in respect to Ronald McDonald's participation in community events for the time being."A statement on the UK Maccies site also stated: "We're afraid that Ronald McDonald no longer appears in McDonald's UK advertising, but he is still very busy working for us.

"He often travels up and down the country to help promote some of our exciting new activities and visits our restaurants to make sure everyone is enjoying their meals."

Until next time, Ronald.