Editing Mac Tonight (section)

==History==
'''Original Marketing Campaign (1986–1989)'''

The campaign was created by Jim Bennedict and Peter Coutroulis, with the Los Angeles advertising firm Davis, Johnson, Mogul & Colombatto handling its execution on a $500,000 budget. It aimed to increase dinner sales by appealing to baby boomers with a nostalgic 1950s-style theme. The designers chose an anthropomorphic moon character playing a grand piano, either atop a cloud or a giant Big Mac, to foster a cult following.

By 1987, the campaign expanded to the West Coast and, eventually, nationwide, resulting in significant increases in dinnertime business at some McDonald's locations. Doug Jones portrayed Mac Tonight in over 27 of the 29 commercials produced between 1986 and 1997, with Brock Walsh providing the voice.

In 1989, McDonald's was sued by Dodd Mitchell Darin for using his father's song without permission, prompting the company to withdraw the ads. Attempts to replace the song failed, leading to the campaign's discontinuation.

'''Reintroduction in Southeast Asia (2006–2010)'''

In 2006, McDonald's reintroduced Mac Tonight in Southeast Asia, with an animated version singing and playing the saxophone atop a McDonald's restaurant. The campaign, developed by Liquid Animation, ran in markets such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand.

===Production Details===
'''Mask and Animatronics'''

The Mac Tonight mask, designed by Steve Neill, was motorized with animatronics and required three puppeteers for facial movements. Several restaurants in the early 1990s featured animatronic figures of Mac Tonight playing the piano.