Mac Tonight was introduced in 1986 as a moon-headed singer in McDonald’s advertising.
The character appeared in commercials promoting McDonald’s during evening hours. Mac Tonight wore formal clothing, played or sang around a piano, and was built around a modified presentation of the song “Mack the Knife.” The moon-shaped head supplied the campaign’s most memorable visual feature.
Mac Tonight is sometimes confused with McDonaldland characters such as Grimace or Mayor McCheese. Unlike those recurring restaurant characters, Mac Tonight was primarily an advertising figure associated with a specific evening campaign.
The campaign gave McDonald’s a distinctive nighttime identity during a period when the company was trying to encourage customers to visit outside traditional lunch hours.