Which 1959 song was reworked for McDonald’s “Mac Tonight” advertising campaign?

“Mack the Knife” was reworked for McDonald’s “Mac Tonight” advertising campaign.

The song was written by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht for the 1928 musical The Threepenny Opera. Bobby Darin’s 1959 recording became a major popular hit and is the version most closely associated with the song’s mid-century revival. McDonald’s adapted the melody for commercials in 1986, replacing the original title phrase with “Mac Tonight.”

The adaptation helped give the campaign a distinctive lounge-pop sound and connected the crescent-moon character with nighttime dining. It was not simply a new jingle written from scratch, which is why the musical source is important to the campaign’s branding history.

The use of the melody also created a legal dispute. Darin’s estate objected to the unauthorized adaptation, and the campaign was eventually discontinued. That history is separate from the character’s visual design and from McDonald’s regular corporate slogans.