Mac Tonight promoted McDonald’s late-night advertising campaign built around “Mack the Knife.”
Mac Tonight was introduced in 1986 as a singing, moon-headed character associated with McDonald’s evening hours. The campaign used a rewritten version of Bobby Darin’s recording of “Mack the Knife,” changing the lyrics to promote nighttime visits.
The character’s appearance was distinctive: Mac Tonight had a crescent-moon head, sunglasses, and a formal outfit. This separated him from McDonaldland’s earlier food and fantasy characters and gave McDonald’s a campaign focused specifically on dinner and late-night business.
Mac Tonight is sometimes mistaken for a permanent mascot. He was primarily a campaign character and was used most prominently during the 1980s.