About this episode

Mike Scollins joins the podcast to discuss the nostalgic character Mac Tonight from McDonald's 1980s advertising campaign.

For a brief period in the 1980s, McDonald's used a jazz singer with a talking moon for a head to promote the idea of eating hamburgers at night. It worked! Despite only appearing for a short time, this suave moon man still lives in the hearts of many adult podcasters. Mike Scollins ( Late Night with Seth Meyers ) returns to PTR to share in the general fondness for our good pal Mac. "Defunct McDonaldland Gang with Emily St. James" episode is up at:  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/PodcastTheRide⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ FOLLOW PODCAST: THE RIDE: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/PodcastTheRide⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/podcasttheride⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ BUY PODCAST: THE RIDE MERCH: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.teepublic.com/stores/podcast-the-ride⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ PODCAST THE RIDE IS A FOREVER DOG PODCAST ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://foreverdogpodcasts.com/podcasts/podcast-the-ride⁠   See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

People in this episode

Host: Podcast: The Ride

Guest: Mike Scollins

Topics covered

• McDonald's advertising
• 1980s pop culture
• nostalgia
• fast food history
• Mac Tonight

Keywords

• Mac Tonight
• McDonald's
• 1980s
• advertising
• nostalgia
• fast food
• jazz singer

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: McDonald's

Books & works: Late Night with Seth Meyers, Defunct McDonaldland Gang

More episodes of Podcast: The Ride

• The McDonaldland Gang · July 10, 2026 · 2h 14m
• Unlocked: Mister Rogers' Neighborhood of Make Believe · July 3, 2026 · 1h 29m
• Bluey's Best Day Ever! · June 26, 2026 · 1h 35m
• Pooh's Hunny Hunt with For Your Amusement (Ryan Bergara and Byron Marin) · June 19, 2026 · 1h 51m

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