McDonald's 1986 advertising campaign featuring a moon-headed singer was called “Mac Tonight.”
The campaign presented a character with a crescent-moon head, sunglasses, and a lounge-singer style. Its commercials promoted McDonald's as an evening destination and used a rewritten version of “Mack the Knife” to create a distinctive musical identity.
Mac Tonight was created for McDonald's advertising by the Los Angeles agency Needham Harper Steers. The campaign became especially associated with late-night dining and developed a strong visual identity separate from Ronald McDonald and the McDonaldland characters.
The character's name is sometimes confused with the title of the song used in the commercials. “Mac Tonight” identifies the advertising character and campaign; the music was based on “Mack the Knife,” a separate song. The campaign ran primarily in the United States during the late 1980s.