Defunctland: The History of McDonald's Mac Tonight
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- Опубликовано: 30 дек 2017
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All amusement parks need restaurants right? In this minisode, Kevin talks about the history of the now-defunct McDonald's advertising character, Mac Tonight.
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2:25 S M O O T H C O O L J A Z Z P E N I S
The Moon Man animatronics are the most interesting part of this entire thing to me. I would never think McDonalds of all places would feature a life size and singing animatronics!
Dunno if its still open but I know a mcdonalds here in arizona that has dinosaur animatronics.
It is curious that they bothered to put Mac in as an animatronic to , considering how long he actually ended up sticking around. I suppose that speaks to just how popular he was! Makes me wonder if they considered a mascot switch between him and Ronald.
I remember the Mac Tonight ads as a kid, but never saw the animatronics or the costume character at McDonald's (I remember sometimes seeing Ronald or the others show up in costume). It's interesting to hear that some locations had animatronics though. I guess it shouldn't be a surprise at that time.
I wish we could've got a Moonman game like we got a Pepsiman game, that'd be cool.
Don't forget Mac Tonight's titular role in the Enjoy Yourself music video
There's a retro McDonald's like 20 minutes from my house and they have a Mac Tonight animatronic and he doesn't work anymore, but he used to when I was very young and now they just dress him up for the holidays.
Yes, I FONDLY remember the Mac Moon. When this campaign to put McDonalds in the late night Drive Thru business launched in October of 1986, I was 3 and a half. Since I was still technically a toddler, I LOVED Mac Tonight. So much, that I remember getting a Mac Tonight Toy in a Happy Meal. One Saturday in September of 1988(The 24th I recall), Mom drove me to the Corte Madera Mall about 45 minutes away from our hometown in Novato. That whole time during the trip, I played with the toy and even sat near a Concession Stand with Mom playing it. When she decided to pick up some food from the Food Court and some Sweets for me, I got distracted and left the Toy on the Mall floor.
When we left for Home in about 15 minutes into the ride back, I SUDDENLY realized I left the Toy at the Mall. Being 5 of course, I pleaded with and begged Mom to drive back and get my toy. She told me "Sorry, Your too late. It's likely gone. Another Kid might of found it laying around. I'm afraid its finder's keepers loser's weepers".
I spent the entire night with a Sad look on my face. I was very bummed losing that Toy. I didn't cry once over it, oddly.
Anyway, I still LOVE Mac Tonight. He's Classy, he's a bit creepy, but he's charming. I also love how the Ads make it looks like your going to a Classy Restaurant, but in reality, its a Shitty,Mediocre overrated fast foot joint.
"Despite the melody being an archaic murder ballad, Ball saw its potential for McDonald's advertisements as it possessed the word 'mac'."
Mac Tonight is probably their best mascot, anyone who can make McDonald's of all things actually seem somewhat classy has talent that shouldn't go unappreciated
So even in his first roles Doug Jones was wearing costumes
It’s like the man was born to wear them
"Not related to the racist meme"
Wait, what?
*Searches Google*
Oh. Oh no...
Love the idea of this, you definitely should consider doing a thing on defunct mascots!
How about the old scary ass ronald mcdonald
LARRY HAS SPOKEN!
I fully endorse it!!!
Jesus, I swear Larry Bundy is under every video I watch, lol
How about a video on the Hamm's Beer Bear?
kinda a shame he didnt touch briefly on Saint Pepsi and how he used mac tonight in his vaporwave
mrdrpeper I watched the video expecting him to say that :(
That's actually how I found out about Mac Tonight, and the whole reason I watched this.
a trans girl invented vaporwave
"The advertisers wanted the same cult following for their character that Max Headroom had garnered."
...I think they succeeded at least four times over.
He’s also the most Vaporwave mascot in fast food history
🌙
👔
👖
Someone forgot to mention Saint Pepsi....
I just had dinnah.
Ricardo Acosta Stop trying to force this meme please.
I've been to the worlds biggest McDonalds in Orlando as recently as last year and they have a working animatronic of the character playing the piano and singing songs. I ate in the room it's in, which was on the second floor (via elevator) and there's a 5 minute performance every 10=15 minutes or so. I recorded some video of it which I have yet to upload.
You should upload it so we have a record!
Also I can say from experience that Mac is absolutely terrifying in person.
RT the animatronic used to scare me to death as a kid
Agreed! They had a walkaround character come to my elementary school a few times when I was a kid and I was quite creeped out by him. You could see his cold dead eyes from the side, behind the shades and it was very creepy.
It made me have a huge fear of mascots and things of that nature, I still can't be around one to this day
Heather Deer I totally agree. Creepy!
he also eats deer
Happy New Year everyone! If you’re confused why this isn’t a theme park attraction, it will make much more sense after the Future of Defunctland podcast and possible live stream this Sunday.
Also, this is a history video, not a political piece or a lecture in meme theory. I am not giving you my political opinions and I don’t care what yours are. We are all here because we enjoy themed pop culture history.
Defunctland, you're a racist.
Defunctland happy new years
Defunctland what racist meme?
Defunctland looks like Jay Leno 😂
Is it possible to reclaim the character, or is the damage permanent? Just tired of seeing things that we remember as being pure (or, at least, purer. It IS an advert after all) corrupted by fools and said corruption being allowed to stand...😔
I honestly had no idea the "Moon Man" meme was a thing
I love Mac Tonight! He was one of my favorite pop culture advertising characters of the 80's. I loved his look, his smooth style, the "grown up" feel of the commercials (being a kid at the time). Later on he was the obvious inspiration for Pleasure Island's own Moon Man character at Disney World (actually almost an exact copy without sunglasses). I'm SO saddened to here about these terrible things done and said using Mac as a negative mascot, which I had never heard of until this video. I don't understand why people are they way they are and want to corrupt an innocent character like that. I for one, will still have fond memories of Mac Tonight the way he should be.
I was always fascinated by Mac Tonight... The advertising style of the character always reminded me of the 'cool' Joe Camel artwork you would see back in the '90s. While I never became a smoker, I have to admit to having been somewhat impressed by both campaigns. I was not aware of the fact that Doug Jones had been the actor to portray Mac, nor had any awareness of the twisted usurping of the character via meme, that would follow. As always, this was another great and informative video! Happy New Year!
LOL-so we know you arent a smoker, but are you a late night McD eater? I like listening to old time radio shows, and they usually have the original adberts in them (depending on the source)-well, i have NO interest in smoking, but man do they make it seem like a good thing to do!! I actually know a few of their "jingles"-esp because certain programs were usually sponsored by a single company (often cigs), and you woudl hear teh jingle at LEAST once er program (often more). If you like old advertising, you might try looking up the video of all the commercials played during the star wars holiday special...thats kinda interesting to see! (and the holiday special itself is a must suffer, i mean WATCH, for any sci-fi nerd! Chris stuckmann also does a great hilariocity review of that-just cracks me up!
I member' having the same thoughts at the time about Mac T
2:48
Nowadays Wendy’s is notable for her smug sassy role on Twitter.
TVBForever Wendy superior moonman inferior.
Don’t forget Arby’s social media really likes anime.
The Arby's account puts _way_ more effort into, like, making dioramas out of papercraft and onion rings and shit. If I had to choose one poor intern whose job is to make their employer look hip on the social medias, I'm thinkin' Arby's.
Lol Exactly
TVBForever holy shit rock critic and here too!?
I love Doug Jones. A lot of people here probably aren't even aware they know his work. He was also the dead guy in Hocus Pocus which I'm sure people here have watched it
My college theatre prof was in a Mime Troupe with Doug Jones, she talked about him all the time, she is so proud of his accomplishments
you forgot Mac Tonight in 1998 - 1997 was in NASCAR as well.The Mac Tonight paint scheme came back in 2016 for a one race deal.
Nascar Fan 77 Great point! That Jamie McMurray car looked amazing.
I had a Hot Wheel of it as a kid. Probably came with a Happy Meal
Totally Kyle I have that exact one sitting on my desk as I type this
I'm sure a lot of people would come back for a one-race deal.
Ah, a defunct mascot! I love it. I have a little Mac Tonight Happy Meal toy. He's driving a boat for some reason.
Yes, I FONDLY remember the Mac Moon. When this campaign to put McDonalds in the late night Drive Thru business launched in October of 1986, I was 3 and a half. Since I was still technically a toddler, I LOVED Mac Tonight. So much, that I remember getting a Mac Tonight Toy in a Happy Meal. One Saturday in September of 1988(The 24th I recall), Mom drove me to the Corte Madera Mall about 45 minutes away from our hometown in Novato. That whole time during the trip, I played with the toy and even sat near a Concession Stand with Mom playing it. When she decided to pick up some food from the Food Court and some Sweets for me, I got distracted and left the Toy on the Mall floor.
When we left for Home in about 15 minutes into the ride back, I SUDDENLY realized I left the Toy at the Mall. Being 5 of course, I pleaded with and begged Mom to drive back and get my toy. She told me "Sorry, Your too late. It's likely gone. Another Kid might of found it laying around. I'm afraid its finder's keepers loser's weepers".
I spent the entire night with a Sad look on my face. I was very bummed losing that Toy. I didn't cry once over it, oddly.
Anyway, I still LOVE Mac Tonight. He's Classy, he's a bit creepy, but he's charming. I also love how the Ads make it looks like your going to a Classy Restaurant, but in reality, its a Shitty,Mediocre overrated fast foot joint.
I'm a big fan of Bobby Darin, so this has always been one of my favorite ad campaigns. While I can see why Dodd wanted to sue McDonalds, I've always thought of Mac Tonight as a nice callback to Bobby.
Many years ago a local McDonald's caught fire necessitating extensive work. When it reopened it was totally decked out with Mac Tonight with complementing colors and decorations. Quite neat to see one so different at a time when almost all McDonald's looked identical. It has since been rebuilt to a standard style, but 'specialty' McDonald's are not as hard to find anymore.
I’ve actually seen a statue of Mac Tonight in a McDonalds in Wisconsin and I never knew who he was or why he was there. Now I know
Mackenzie Yeiter There’s a statue of him at the “World’s biggest McDonalds” in Orlando too. It had the uniqueness of being very out of date with a Bill Cosby standee (before the sexual assault controversy) and a Mac Tonight statue.
Mackenzie Yeiter I think I've been to that location! He doesn't move, but he's at the center of the dining area.
Where in Wisconsin?
Mac Tonight was actually Liquid Snake.
Listen to how Liquid says Brother.
It's exactly how Mac says Dinner.
Before Eli became obsessed with the whole resessive genes thing, he worked as a nighttime performer for a popular fast food restauraunt.
This is one of those things I thought I made up in my head as a kid then confirmed it was real many years later
I've been recommended these videos by RUclips many times and never watched them before, to be honest, as I've watched similar channels with high hopes and was sorely disappointed by them. However, I've just subscribed after watching this and am gonna binge all of these on my next few days off. Fantastic stuff and look forward to the wonderful ride that is Defunctland!
Tbh I would have never known of mac tonight without moonman meme, and that was way before /pol/ revitalizing the meme. Wish you would have touched on his use by vaporwave communities/artist as that is arguably what has contributed to his most recent revitalization as well, not just /pol/ memes.
The ironic thing about the vaporwave revival is that vaporwave is supposed to be super anti-corporatist yet the moonman meme out shun it in this regard 1000 fold.
Thank you for the mention at the end! I am a massive Mac Tonight fan and I'm extremely saddened by what the internet did to him. I have a huge collection of Mac memorabilia that includes a corporate used mascot costume and a giant statue along with tons of signs, advertisements, toys, pins, clothes etc. that used to be on display, but is now in storage because looking at him honestly makes me sad. Hopefully someday the internet will let the moon man nonsense die and let Mac be known as an advertising mascot like he should be. Thanks for the informative video. And on a side-note, since it's not very well known and I believe he deserves a lot of credit, Mac's beautiful voice was Roger Behr of the original 80's Transformers cartoon.
I want Mac's jacket...
I remember that on the Tonight Show With Jay Leno, Leno would mention his own resemblance to the character a few times and there was a logo that had Leno's face on a crescent moon as a nod to the character.
Saint Pepsi's Enjoy Yourself video uses Mac Tonight and I feel it makes Mac Tonight pure again
I was just gonna mention that Vaporwave song. To be honest, I like Enjoy Yourself.
no one cares what you like, homestuck nerd
"antifa"
That's where I know moon man from
Lol it got taken down because of “hate speech” fuck RUclips man
Don't forget the St. PEPSI version of Mac Tonight
moonman, moonman, cant you see? McDonald's at 2 am is the only meal for me
Strong Bad was this guy for Halloween! Don'tcha remember?
"Oh, it's a good time
For large-headed monstrosities! OH!
To sell you cheeseburgers! HEY!
Strong Bad Tonight!"
It came out right at midnight for me
Nol Dur lucky
Nol Dur East coast is true coast.
SAME
Finally the history of my boy saint pepsi
Or sun levi lol he used this footage for the song
E N J O Y_Y O U R_S E L F
mac tonight seems like the kind of guy you can just chill and smoke a joint with.
I remember meeting Mac Tonight when I was a kid, in the 1980's he was huge and I was super stoked to meet him.
The meme doesnt defeat the character for me. I remember him from adverts and visiting restaurants with the animatronic, which i could do from all my dog show travelling, sometimes many states at atime
True it doesn't defeat the character but it sure does show how petty and fucked up the alt right is trying to ruin a icon .
eaglerocks123 The meme is older than the alt-right movement. And it's a bit silly to say they're trying to "ruin an icon" don't you think? 4chan already did a good job with that in 2007. And the alt right was doing the only thing they knew how to do: meme.
eaglerocks123 I don't think the meme is advertising rascisim I think it's funny because it's just so stupid.
If you heard the lyrics to those song you will realize that it's is over the top parody of racism.
eaglerocks123 The alt-right didn't even start the meme bro
Nothing like another video from defunctland to celebrate the new year!
moon man moon man cant you see?
people stole the idea from tv
Rest in peace Mac Tonight. We'll miss you, space cowboy.
You should definitely do more videos like this
Defunct mascots/ ad campaigns!
I can't look at Mac Tonight & not be reminded of Max Headroom.
::Watches video::
Holy shit, no wonder......
Your old....
mmysama what's the problem? lol everyone here will be old xD
Wait MacTonight was the fishman in the Shape of Water?
Based timeline
Late 80's to late 90's commercials, when there was still a heavy reliance on practical effects, were so good with each one having a distinct style.
I do not envy the job of policing moon man shitposts in this comment section
Spyromancy598 moon man moon man can't you see
can't you see?
can't you see?
People still say that meme!?
Shit
serves him right for censoring.
The first RUclips video of 2018. Good on you.
no it's not
moon man is a horrific bastardization of our one true god of vaporwave, mac tonight
Back to Kekistan with you!
Fridaey13txhOktober SHUT UP
Fridaey13txhOktober go back to 4chan, where you belong
He was given the spengbab treatment and ironically was made a lot better due to it.
The irony of it is, it was a black guy who made the Moon Man meme in the first place.
Tis but a shitpost.
Have you ever seen an American /pol/ meetup photo it's always like 70% Asians and Hispanics. Yeah I know that the moonman meme was made before /pol/ but it's still pretty funny.
Moonman isn't even really alt-right. It's all (mostly) as a joke. Most fucking Moonman videos have a disclaimer in either the video or the comments saying it's a joke and isn't intended to be taken seriously. So what if a few alt-righters used the meme? It's like Pepe: just because a few "racists" used a meme it doesn't make the meme itself alt-right.
I just made a giant masterpiece for all the defunct land nerds
I see what you did there...
Look up The Saint Pepsi video Enjoy Yourself and enjoy yourself.
Loved this, Kevin! Thank you! A few other things worth mentioning: That 2007 commercial promoted some locations being opened 24 hours, and it did run regionally in the states. I specifically remember a custom commercial made for Seattle. The character did reappear nationwide to a small extent around the late 00's and early 10's (I can't say what year off the top of my head) to promote the late night menu. Also, he had his own Happy Meal toys in the late 80's.
This ad campaign introduced me to the song "Mack The Knife" when I was fifteen. I hunted up my folks' Bobby Darin album to listen to the genuine article. :-)
D I N N U H
I
N
N
U
H
I never dreamed you would actually cover this! Wonderful. Happy New Year as well you have become one of my favorite channels. Keep up the fantastic work, hope 2018 treats you as you so obviously deserve. Your work improves my life, thank you so much .
*D I N N A H !*
Doug Jones was my college basketball mascot, Charlie Cardinal, at Ball State University in 1982. He did this from 1980-82. It was cool to see him on the floor, bringing life to that character. I just KNEW that kid would be going places.
Please tell me I'm not the only one who heard "A smooth, cool, jazz penised."
Missy Barbour
Haha I heard it too. Enunciating pi-AN-ist is very important...
2:26 Wow, I really heard that wrong.
The picture at 4:17 is of the McDonald's I used to frequent as a kid! It's not the "Solid Gold" McDonald's anymore, though. They remodeled it as a regular McDonald's.
Love this!!! Thank you! I was making a Mac Tonight costume for a convention when someone brought up the Moon man memes, and my heart was broken. That Mac Tonighy figure is actually in Orlando, and was one of the reasons that inspired me to do a costume in the first place. I decided to do Mayor Mccheese instead because I didnt want anyone misconstruing what I was going for. Keep up the good work with this series!
It’s hard to listen to the song and not hear Moon Man.
>:(
Ugandan Knuckles Yeah sadly
Okay, but did that last comment on the real meme being the way he says Dinner remind anyone of another meme-y character? KING HARKINIAN/MAC TONIGHT OTP!
Thomas Johnson no.
I wonder what’s for dinnah?
Mah boi... DINNA is what ALL true warriors strive for!
I hadn’t really heard of Mac Tonight before I learned about moon man. Doesn’t really ruin anything for me. Stuff like Pepe has been branded as a hate symbol so it’s hard for me to take people getting offended by memes seriously.
Spyro Jyro i get your point, but like, the Swastika was also an innocuous symbol adopted for hate. Obvoisly Pepe being adopted by Richard Spencer isn't as grim as Nazi Germany, but people aren't wrong to at least be wary when seeing a Pepe avatar.
Yeah it's just a pretty dumb but fun joke, nothing actually serious tbh
Pepe the frog is awesome though.
Pepe LePew?
The problem is that by melodramatically labelling pepe a racist meme and moon man a racist mascot when they don't have racist origins and often aren't used in racist ways, you're basically making a self fulfilling prophecy where moon man and pepe won't be used by people who aren't racist because groups like the SPLC and ADL said they're racist, people who use them in neutral contexts without being aware of obscure stormfront//pol/ culture are *IN FOR THE RECKONING OF THEIR LIVES* and racists will just monopolize these memes. You're basically just handing bits of culture to assholes just so you can scaremonger people about assholes.
There was so much 50s nostalgia in the 80s.
I was watching the ball drop on tv and 40 seconds before it dropped, there was a communication error
GeorgiBachi OH NOEZ! WE NEED TV FOR NEW YEARS!
Saint Pepsi Mac Tonight > Moonman
YES
Ｅ Ｎ Ｊ Ｏ Ｙ Ｙ Ｏ Ｕ Ｒ Ｓ Ｅ Ｌ Ｆ
I agree. That's what I've associated Mac Tonight with.
That's the true meme.
Too bad Vaporwave is dead
Mac tonight is one of the most interesting food mascots, while being defunct but still relevant, definitely would love more mascots maybe one on other McDonald's characters.
Also, D I N N A H!
There is a bit of lore to the moon man meme. There's sun man, the rational and calm counterpart to moon man, who tries to reason with moon man and is supposed to be a black guy. It shows how /pol/ was self aware at a time, but eventually only attracted idiots who thought the memes were real.
Ahhhh I too remember the times /pol/ has moral fiber
That's some nice history revisionism. In five years from now, we'll have people saying how /pol/ was founded off of progressive liberal ideals.
Moonman and Sunman date back to the original YTMND posts in 2007+
If you like the meme then just go ahead and like it. No need to fucking justify it morally to yourself.
I didn't know this character had a racist meme associated with him before seeing this video.
Zach Becker me neither, I feel out of touch!
Zach Becker i only found out a few weeks before when I shared Enjoy Yourself and someone (kindly) informed me of the meme so I wouldn't be surprised if someone else mentioned it.
me neither, guess i'll refrain from looking up any mac stuff online then
Fuck the alt right!
That's because you're a fucking normie
What's that? A new Defunctland episode? Oh yeah.
He was way cooler than Ronald. I wanted to be Mac when I was little.
Great video! Branching out into other kinds of defunct things is an awesome idea. Also, I'm very impressed with how you handled the sensitive topics involved.
I didn't think you could be sued over a parody.
Typically you can’t. The argument by Darin’s son was that Mac Tonight used his fathers trademarked gestures I a way that was copying and not a parody. McDonalds definitely had a good case
Thank you for the clarification and quick reply :)
Music copyright is semi unique
Moonman Moonman can't you see
These commercials make me hungry
More like the fact that you can't keep your ass-mouth shut if you ever say that shitty meme
Side note, love the idea of doing defunct characters as well as attractions, maybe they can be walk arounds in defunctland VR?
I remember seeing a mac tonight statue with piano and such at a mcdonalds when I was younger. Odd part is, I was born in 2001. Do some mcdonalds still have him there?
Defunctland talking about Jesus? I'm okay with this.
i can't unhear Saint Pepsi's Enjoy Yourself when i see Mac Tonight
also what moonman meme idk what that is
I've never heard of a moon man or Mac tonight 😂
MCDONALD'S needs the magic back
6:12 this just in, The King from YTP sued Mac Tonight for catchphrase Dinner!
This hit me harder in the nostalgia feels than i thought it would, i have vague memories of this ad being on TV in the early 90s in Sweden.
Best Defunctland minisode so far! I loved each little bit you explained. Keep rockin'!
LETS GO HAVE DINNAH AT MCDONALD
The Mac Tonight at "The Most Magnificent McDonald's in America" was re-skinned to be a Ronald McDonald in the late 90s, and removed by 2005, but most of the 24hr McDonald's in the surrounding area that were remodeled gained neon Mac Tonight signs.
A few of the Mac Tonight animatronics were retrofitted into a lion character named Rory (I believe that was his name). No I don't know what a lion has to do with McDonald's either. The animatronic was nearly identical but with a swapped out head and a new showtape.
"World's most magnificent McDonald's". Built 1989 Warren, OH
I very much like the way you told the story knowing you took a risk. You did it respectfully without sacrificing accuracy. Just another reason I love this channel.
He came to my store. I left for boot camp in 1989, and when I came home on leave... he was no more.
I always correlated Mac Tonight with Max Headroom and now I know why. Love 'em both!
There is a Mac tonight animatronic at the Orlando McDonald's and it still works and play songs
I vaguely remember the Mac Tonight ads.
I was completely unaware of the Moon Man meme.
Leave it to jerks to ruin something.
I remember the ads back in the day though they were pretty cool I would not mind a cameo on a Mc Donalds ad one of these days. :)
Moonman lmao