| Mac Tonight | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Vital Information | |
| Species: | Humanoid Moon Creature |
| Gender: | Male |
| Character description: |
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| Character information | |
| Appeared in: | McDonald's |
Advertising campaign
The original campaign in the United States included twenty-nine commercials, initially airing from 1986 to 1997. Doug Jones played Mac Tonight in twenty-seven of them. A number of three-inch hard plastic Mac Tonight toys were available in Happy Meals. Mac Tonight also made a cameo in a Big Mac commercial in 1988,
During the late 1980s through the early 1990s, people in Mac Tonight costumes used to greet McDonald's customers, along with people appearing as Ronald McDonald, Grimace and other characters.
Return
In 2007, Mac Tonight was given a CGI makeover and starred in a new commercial in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and The Philippines. He is no longer seen flying over the earth or a city with a piano, but instead he dances on top of a McDonald's store singing and playing a saxophone.
The lyrics of the advertising jingle are
"All day and all night, step out for a bite. Oh for treats that delight, --24 Hours a day! Come down to Mac Tonight, hey! [Plays a Short Piece on a Saxophone] Chill out, (name of country), McDonald's is 24 Hours Come down to Mac Tonight, -24 Hours 'round the clock. Come on down to Mac Tonight!"
In 2006, McDonald's brought back the character in territories throughout Southeast Asia such as in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand and China. The Asian-exclusive campaign featured a CGI-animated Mac Tonight dancing atop a McDonald's restaurant while singing and playing a saxophone. These commercials were made by Liquid Animation. Later in the ads animated by SiLLY THING, Mac Tonight was depicted in a Chibi style, he was seen in various surreal situations throughout the campaign.
Legacy
Mac Tonight is rarely featured in modern McDonald's commercials. He's been seen in a commercial from 2004 and in 2013 for the launch of the After Midnight Menu. Mac Tonight's last known appearance was in the background of a Canadian McDonald's ad on a poster. The poster design was made and used for the General Mills/McDonald's Promotion. This artwork was done by Tom Dubois.
Ronald Mcdonald House Charities has an annual fundraiser named after Mac Tonight, this fundraiser was named the Mac Tonight Gala. In 2018 the event was renamed 'Masquerade Ball'. In 2019 they stopped mentioning the name 'Mac Tonight Gala' for unknown reasons.
Online, Mac Tonight has a heavy association with Vaporwave. Mac Tonight appeared on the cover of the split album Late Night Delight by Saint Pepsi and Luxury Elite, where he became an icon of the vaporwave genre.
Mac Tonight was also featured in The Simpsons episodes "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bangalore" as a cardboard cutout, "Fatzcarraldo", and "Burger Kings" via Homer's imagination.