#mac tonight

[vhs-80]

John Hamagami, from The Creative Illustration Book (1990)

scan

[itsnightblood]

M A C T O N I G H T

itsnightblood.bandcamp.com

[peteneems]

[pizzdotbiz]

DINNAH!!! AT MCDONAAAAAAALDS!!!!!!

[goobersplat]

1980s McDonald’s Toy Moon Man's Jeep

[vintagegeekculture]

[dylanoteforever]

yeah

[gameraboy2]

Mac Tonight

[dognightmare4]

just realized i forgot to post this here

[baileyartblog]

the tattoo promotes recycling, mac. ignore the fact that it's his boss (yes this is the censored version)

[phantomoftheparadise0002]

Valentine's day cards made by yours truly!💕

[beggars-opera]

Down a vintage Defunctland rabbit hole this fine Saturday and found one relevant to my interests

[saintfijiwater]

[homeskarunners]

A History of My Favorite McDonald’s Mascot, Mac Tonight

so. this is something i feel very strongly about.

this is mac tonight.

a lot of people know him as moon man.

i do not like this.

moon man, while originally being a nickname he was called in commercials, is now the name of his “fanmade” racist alter ego popularized by the alt right. i shouldn’t have to explain why this is a problem.

thankfully, this character has died down in popularity recently, so i’m taking it upon myself to rip off that ugly mask and tell you all a little about the most creative, smooth, and personally iconic mcdonald’s mascot out of all of them, Mac Tonight.

origins

in 1959, Bobby Darin released his cover of the song “Mack the Knife”. decades later, in the early 80s, some marketing guy trying to come up with an ad campaign for mcdonald’s thought “hey this song about a killer would be perfect parody material for a fast food company!”, and thus, the mcdonald’s parody was born.

Mac Tonight also drew inspiration from Max Headroom, the character. not the broadcast hijacking that used his face.

usage

in the mid 80s, the commercials started rolling in for McDonald’s brand new 24 hour policy. and they were a hit. for good reason! i am a massive fan of Mac Tonight, if it wasn’t clear, and i adore every one of these.

i would link one, but the feature doesn’t seem to be working for me at the moment…

the commercials were jazzy, smooth, maybe repetitive, but they were fun. Mac Tonight got so popular they made several statues and singing animatronics to place in restaurants across the globe.

eventually, Bobby Darin’s son found out, and sued McDonalds for using his fathers song uncredited and without permission. this was, temporarily, the end of Mac Tonight in advertising. however, in the late 90s, he began being used again in various non-musical commercials.

downfall

unfortunately, this is where moon man comes in. he is Mac Tonight’s white supremacist rapping internet persona that 4chan probably made.

i earnestly, for the life of me, cannot imagine why they would want to ruin such a beloved mascot.

he was so widespread McDonald’s tore down several Mac Tonight physical incarnations in restaurants everywhere.

Mac Tonight’s latest usage was in a Singaporean ad in 2007, a singing CGI rendition, that is still lovely despite the lack of Mack the Knife parody.

Defunctland made a wonderful video on the history of this icon.

i am thrilled to inform you all on this mascot i adore, and i hope more people love him as time goes on. down with the moon man.

[galaxystargurl110]

I was thinking about the new McDonald spinoff and I think I know who would be the best mascot for it

[your-fave-is-forklift-certified]

Mac Tonight from McDonalds is Forklift Certified!