Mac Tonight (found extended version of song from McDonald's advertisements; late 1980s)

Promotional image for McDonald's featuring Mac Tonight.

Status: Found

Date found: 13 Oct 2024

Mac Tonight is a character which appeared in multiple commercials to promote the fast food chain McDonald's during the late 80s, these ads have been since praised due to their style and most notably their version of the song Mack The Knife (popularized due to American musician Bobby Darin), which replaces its lyrics of a criminal with a knife to lyrics based on the McDonald's brand. The character stopped being regularly used after a lawsuit by Dodd Mitchell Darin, Bobby Darin's son, in 1989.^[1] Although Mac did end up appearing in some commercials after the lawsuit, it is likely that the character will not be used anymore, due to Mac being synonymous with Moon Man, a parody of the character which depicts him as a white supremacist.^[2]

However, the Mac Tonight theme song, one of the character's most well-known traits, is known to have an extended version which runs at 60 seconds.

The Extended Version

According to Mac Tonight's actor Doug Jones, he states that an extended version of the theme was recorded which was only played on the radio, he also provided the lyrics for this version, which goes as follows:

When the clock strikes, Half past 6, Babe, It's Time to head for Golden Lights!
It's a good time for the great taste, and great taste means Mac Tonight!
It's time for a Big Mac! How about a McDLT? Or those chicken nuggets with those famous fries?
You can drive-thru, or just walk right in, to McDonalds! It's Mac Tonight!
It's a Good Time, for the great taste, Dinner! At McDonald's! It's Mac Tonight! Come on, make it Mac Tonight!

Availability

While the original version of the theme song can be easily found online, no recordings of the 60-second version were known to exist. There were attempts to get in contact with Brock Walsh (Mac's voice actor) in order to get a copy of the extended version. According to Brock, while he doesn't have a personal copy, he would ask around for it, as of now, no further updates have been given.^[3]

On October 13, 2024, YouTube user FNickJFKShow posted a low-quality recording of an event where Mac Tonight was present at an opening for a McDonald's restaurant in Boca Raton, Florida. At 06:09, Mac Tonight can be seen performing with the extended version of the song playing in the background, rendering it as found.

Gallery

Footage

Recording of an event where Mac Tonight was present in an opening for a McDonald's restaurant in Boca Raton, Florida, where the extended version of the song is played (06:09).

Videos

Commercial featuring the 30-second version of the Mac Tonight theme song.

Doug Jones performing the 60-second version of the theme song.

References

↑ Darin's son sues McDonald's. Retrieved 01 Sep '24
↑ Anti-Defamation League page on Moon Man. Retrieved 01 Sep '24
↑ LMW forum post on the subject. Retrieved 01 Sep '24

[1] Darin's son sues McDonald's. Retrieved 01 Sep '24

[2] Anti-Defamation League page on Moon Man. Retrieved 01 Sep '24

[3] LMW forum post on the subject. Retrieved 01 Sep '24

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