Welcome to Episode 14 of the 14th season of the Retroist Podcast. In this episode, I talk about the beloved McDonald’s advertising mascot, Mac Tonight.
I recorded this podcast multiple times. The first time it didn’t turn out great, so I decided to transcribe it and edit it into a post about Mac. People really seemed to like that, so I decided to give recording another shot.
I begin by talking about seeing an animatronic performance and not having a camera to capture it on film. Then I speculate about if that was actually a good thing. After recording this multiple times and thinking about it a lot, I believe it is a good thing.
Then I move onto Mac Tonight. I discuss his creation, the people behind it, his release, popularity, comparisons to Max Headroom, and much much more.
I think about food mascots a lot. Mac has always been a bit of an outlier, and that has made him even more intriguing. So I am pleased to finally be able to cover him
Support the Show
You can support the Retroist by joining my Patreon. Supporters will get member-only shows and audio extras associated with the show. Click the giant button below to check out the Patreon Page.
If you have a moment, please stop by Apple Podcasts or wherever you might download the show and perhaps give the show a quick rating. It is very much appreciated.
Maybe I will release this Podcast on Cassette? Join Patreon for a chance to get a mixtape.
Follow on your favorite platform
Follow on Social Media
Subscribe to the Retroist Newsletter
If you like what you are hearing, the Retroist is also a blog and newsletter. So subscribe below to get the newest articles delivered right to your Inbox.
Production Notes
This is episode 268 of the Retroist Podcast.
Music on the show is, as always, by Peachy.
This is the 14th episode of the 14th season of the podcast. It was the seventeenth episode I recorded this season. This was the third time I recorded it.
Doug Jones really is a nice-seeming guy and was especially nice to his fans when I saw him. While Jones doesn’t sing in the commercials, I found this clip of him singing the extended jingle to a fan. It’s amazing.
I tried to track down all the commercials they made online, but only a handful of them have been posted in a decent format. I was going to include more of them in the show, but they are very visual and in a podcast they sounded redundant.
I didn’t know anything about the Hate Group stuff and didn’t want to dive too deeply into it. At any level, it’s a shameful use of the character by bad people.
I cut out a segment about Mac Tonight Merchandise. It was short, but I didn’t think it added anything. Mostly because they have so many things.
When making this show, I thought about McDonald’s food way too much.
I misspoke during my story at the start and even after editing and listening back to it, I didn’t hear it. Then when uploading it, I let it run and hear it. Prosperity! It’s very frustrating. Should be posterity. This is what happens when you do not have a script and use words that you have historically mixed up. I apologize for the mixup.
I really wish Mac and Ronald teamed up.
Here is the original art provided by Christopher Tupa that I used for social media promotion. Christopher did two pieces, both are great. One shows Mac in action, and the other wonderfully captures the energy of a late night fast food run. Look for these images in promotions I post on social media and of course here on the site.
Thanks for listening to the show and I hope you have a great weekend.
Share this post