Mac Tonight was the half-moon character used in a McDonald’s advertising campaign that began in 1986.
The character appeared wearing sunglasses and singing a modified version of “Mack the Knife,” with the advertising focused on McDonald’s evening hours. Mac Tonight gave the company a distinctive nighttime identity at a period when restaurants were working to attract customers beyond the traditional lunch and dinner rush.
Mac Tonight is sometimes confused with Ronald McDonald because both were major McDonald’s advertising characters. They served different purposes: Ronald represented the broader McDonaldland world, while Mac Tonight was built around a musical, evening-oriented campaign. The character became particularly associated with the late 1980s and was later retired from regular national advertising.