McDonald's crescent-moon spokesman in 1980s advertising was Mac Tonight.
Mac Tonight was introduced in 1986 as a character for a McDonald's advertising campaign promoting the restaurant as an evening destination. He appeared as a figure with a crescent-moon head, dark sunglasses, and a tuxedo, and he sang a rewritten version of the song “Mack the Knife.” The campaign's central line was “It’s Mac Tonight.”
The character was designed to change perceptions of McDonald's daypart business by emphasizing dinner and nighttime visits. His visual design was distinct from Ronald McDonald and the McDonaldland cast, although he belonged to the broader history of McDonald's character-based branding.
Mac Tonight is sometimes mistaken for a permanent mascot. He was a campaign character associated particularly with late-1980s advertising, not the company's enduring primary spokesman.