Mac Tonight was the McDonald's campaign built around an animated character who sang about enjoying the evening.
The character debuted in 1986 as part of a campaign promoting McDonald's dinner business. Mac Tonight wore sunglasses, had a crescent-moon-shaped head, and sang a rewritten version of “Mack the Knife” with lyrics about visiting McDonald's at night.
Mac Tonight is sometimes mistaken for a permanent McDonaldland character. He was instead the central figure in a specific advertising campaign, while characters such as Ronald McDonald and Grimace belonged to the broader fictional brand world.
The campaign helped McDonald's communicate that its restaurants were destinations for evening meals, not only breakfast or lunchtime stops. Its distinctive visual design made it unusually memorable in the company's advertising history.