Mac Tonight

[@shaolin1derpalm]

As someone who lived through it,I'll offer a less profound take. Big Macs were $.99 during this promo.

[@lumirairazbyte9697]

After inflation?

[@gidofter_lukge]

@@lumirairazbyte9697 Apparently $2.53. Current price of a Big Mac is $4.89, not including the meal

[@shaolin1derpalm]

@@lumirairazbyte9697 Can't remember. I was 11years old with no money or job.

[@Krystalmyth]

@@gidofter_lukge This is why I hate 'inflation' calculations, because a 99 cent burger felt like 99 cents does today. It was cheap. A burger for a fucking dollar. So you saying it was 2.53, means little to those who were there at the time. In practice, all inflation truly is, is a deflation of the dollar's actual power and value. People weren't spending 2.53 on a burger. They were whipping out a buck, and getting a Big Mac. A buck just meant more.

[@4O4Hime]

@@Krystalmyth You just rediscovered the concept of inflation...

[@DeliciousHotShmoze]

I legitimately got so wrapped up in the history of the “Mack the Knife” that I was confused for a second as to why you suddenly started talking about hamburgers before thinking “oh yeah, this is a video about a McDonald’s commercial.”

[@cruzdesangre2850]

Same dude

[@jace2802]

I assume your stoned as well? 😂😎

[@Astromyxin]

Yeah, the transition was kind of clunky and without context.

[@big_sea]

yes

[@mariic2]

Bobby McDerin!

[@ItsMylo]

Mac's character design is fucking outstanding imo, i've never seen a character as slick, nostalgic, cool, yet utterly terrifying all at the same time

[@cryptickiwi6978]

you could say he's slicker than your average...

[@falloutboy1379]

@@cryptickiwi6978 Cracker Jack

[@jSyndeoMusic]

@@cryptickiwi6978 _can’t you see?_

[@captainmincemeat1432]

Like Max Headroom

[@user-vi4xy1jw7e]

@@jSyndeoMusic wut

[@CaptainNucleus]

It should be noted that as of this year, the Threepenny Opera has entered the public domain. One step closer to bringing the spirit of MacHeath back to the people

[@Potent_Techmology]

The hamburger wasn't invented in Hamburg, that's just were the English name for it comes from People have been putting ground meat in bread for centuries

[@britishgaming6]

@@Potent_Techmology you accidentally replied to someone rather than make a comment

[@plumlineltd7585]

The fact that there’s a long history of Mac Tonight is astounding, but exactly how far it goes is crazy.

[@MrNolanVoid]

What have they done to my Moon Man? He's my favorite rapper!

[@ishid_anfarded_king]

@@MrNolanVoid he's a vaporwave artist now, rap game died

[@kruks]

It's not that odd. Plenty of plays take their story from something much older and plenty of music from those plays makes it into modern media.

[@guiAstorDunc]

I’m realizing now that the appeal of EmpLemon’s “newer” era is that you know they’re willing to throw KZbin Poop-esque energy at you out of what initially seems like nowhere; all in the middle of the most dry, documentary-style video. It’s like the true opposite to a horror movie.

[@phlog_dog7336]

You hit the nail right on the head. As someone who's watched Emp since 2012, this synthesis of styles is fascinating to watch

[@ARG0T]

@@phlog_dog7336 watched him since 2014

[@TELMEman]

I couldn't agree more.

[@hpswagcraft]

I think it's only him that works on the videos (although that makes it even MORE godly)

[@TheSkypetube]

We don't care alright

[@PDocDanny]

Emple burg er

[@nashodeen]

and yet, still nail to make masterpieces from those topics

[@dancolonna6590]

Im all for it

[@thescubapup623]

I remember posting this same idea on the Mt Everest Discrepancy video, and damn if it doesn't continue to ring true every time a video comes out

[@afaniscool]

15 SECONDS OF BORAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA YEAH

[@gerax2003]

Cause this looks random to you? Let me tell you about *Nick Robinson* ...

[@nottoostabby]

When he said the hamburger was "picking up steam" with Skinner in the back-drop, the stupidest grin spread across my face. What an excellent throwaway joke.

[@purplehaze2358]

"The virtual talking head replaced Bill Cosby as Coca Cola's spokesperson." Boy, what an especially excellent decision that turned out to be in hindsight.

[@jaygged6472]

Dr.Bright is no longer allowed to use scp 999 in a cocacola marketing scheme

[@TheJinxCast]

He didn't do anything.

[@JJ_436]

@@TheJinxCast And O.J. Simpson was innocent. I mean, the gloves DIDN'T fit.

[@sigvardr8161]

Bill Cosby did nothing wrong.

[@Wiziliz]

I wish the virtual talking head was still used.

[@CZsWorld]

There's a McDonalds in my home town that still had him as of a few years ago. Hope he's still there.

[@CZsWorld]

@@falloutboy1379 no it was in Illinois

[@CA-vy8et]

Heyyyy CZ’sworldd

[@Spooki.spooki]

You should ask someone you know that's still in your hometown to check.

[@369Hdz]

@@Spooki.spooki there was an animatronic of him up until recently in a location in the Chicago suburbs

[@369Hdz]

@@Spooki.spooki I remember itd always freak me out as a kid when visiting

[@mind-of-neo]

Mac Tonight is so aesthetically perfect, a perfect component of vaporwave visuals

[@Barakon]

A great Ena character for sure. Honestly Moon man is the vaporwave counterpart to him, minus the racism, vaporwave has as far as I know, nothing with racism.

[@queuedjar4578]

He really convinces me to E N J O Y M Y S E L F

[@colapone1895]

absolutely perfect for the time

[@guy_in_the_comments]

That’s what I’m saying, like i just love the vibe he gives off so much

[@jace2802]

So glad emp found a stable channel format. He fits into it so perfectly and I go from wondering "oh cool where did that moon man song come from" to oh wow I have respect for the art that went into Mac the knife. Emp is providing me more culture than my parents ever taught me.

[@lifevest1]

Art of the Choke, Art of Revenge, this dude makes better sports documentaries than most sports channels!

[@peazeralus]

The line about advertising "redefining the meaning of want" is one of the most insightful lines I've heard in some time Also- Mac Tonight's whole aesthetic was my everything when I was like 4 or 5. I loved it

[@drywall4310]

If you want to learn more about that topic, i highly recommend reading Inventing Reality by Michael Parenti. Blackshirts and Reds is an amazing one as well, also written by him. I think everyone should read at least the second one imo, i loved it

[@Drummerchick2003]

Moon buddy 😂 🌙 it worked 🤣

[@michaelj8582]

do you work for a tech company?

[@peazeralus]

@@Drummerchick2003 lol you are absolutely right... worked like a charm 🤣

[@samson4366]

“Cinema is the ultimate pervert art. It does not give what you desire. It tells you how to desire.” Slavoj Žižek, The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema

[@Cyranek]

love how everything was tied together

[@needanewsandwich2359]

Emp could make a video about breathing air and it would be enjoyable

[@MarshalerOfficial]

@@needanewsandwich2359 Breathing air is kind off dull for a essay cause no one cares. Nature would be a interesting theme

[@TazmilyGum]

@@MarshalerOfficial it’s a joke.

[@Sockren]

thats basically all of his summary videos.

[@gloriousblobber9647]

@@TazmilyGum Yes it's a joke, but it would be interesting no?

[@Euanverse]

Can’t wait to watch this half an hour documentary on a singing dude with a moon for a head! But really, EmpLemons docs are always extremely well made.

[@63zf50]

Love how he is able to write such flowing words that connect small things to huge things

[@BeanOfBean]

@Ordonity KZbin never does anything about it, save 0.25 calories and dont burn it by reporting

[@cultiumera]

cant wait to rewatch it at least 3 times this month

[@adrianacaeru6774]

Moon man

[@coreywinks3221]

This dude could make a 2 hour documentary on toothpicks and I'd watch it.

[@OrangePixelJuice]

16:50 "Mac finally got to experience what it was like, to be stabbed in the back" *Burger King ad plays right on cue*

[@micaharies]

i legitimately had never heard of mac tonight before someone explained to me that moon man wasn't actually just a racist meme and that he was a fucking Mcdonalds character

[@KC-zm5lg]

a fucking mcdonalds character influenced by a hundreds of years old german opera song

[@charmandyorton006]

I'm the reverse of that: I used to think it was just some catchy ad based on a crooner song, not a fad that would eventually be pilfered for the face of some white-power shitpost remixes.

[@haroldbalzac6336]

Gotta say 49 "Gay Males" and one "Person of Arabic descent" is actually a good song.

[@ultima2399]

I'm the same way. I was born in 2002 so I never knew mac tonight, I thought he was always Moon Man, after watching this I feel kinda bad now, that we turned a pretty cool chill guy into this horrible, disgusting, rancid icon of discourse. I mean yeah he's ours... But at what cost?

[@lightbrand_]

I had never heard of Mac tonight or moon man period…

[@tobiaspucheta6045]

I work at Mc Donalds and for the new year celebrations they gave us a pin to put in our shirts, it was a collection of various old iconic campains and out of all the different pins i chose one that really called my atention. Yes, I have a pin o Mac Tonight and is today, 3 months later that I discover the truth about all its story. From tomorrow I will start using it, this is awesome.

[@xN0XvRVLEZx]

@mercury_stuck_in_1984 Reptilians stand up! The extinction of the human race is neigh!

[@kingrollypollyvii5565]

@@xN0XvRVLEZx boo

[@Substantial-hf1rm]

@mercury_stuck_in_1984 Im beginning to think you're not being ironic and I don't know how to feel about that.

[@crazygrape]

@mercury_stuck_in_1984 but that would be nearly 87% of the population!

[@DaybreakPT]

@@crazygrape Sure grape boy, whatever lets you sleep at night. Have you considered moving to this highly prosperous 13% ethnostate if you believe they are better than everyone else?

[@Deses]

Emp, you are a marketing genius. We basically sat through a 26 minute ad for your new merch. I tell you, GENIUS.

[@lizardqueen6041]

Oh thank god, now I don't have to sit through a 26 minute ad. Thank you, kind stranger :)

[@ElectronerpProductions]

@@lizardqueen6041 It's not actually a 26 minute ad. He just shows off merch at the end.

[@gorgoramsi239]

And he got paid by us watching it!

[@crazykhespar8487]

... The perfect crime

[@fordsrest]

@@lizardqueen6041 not really, its just an interesting history of a character which was immediately put on a shirt for profit

[@FallouFitness_NattyEdition]

I was not expecting an eighty's McDonald's mascot to have such a long, complex, and rich history.

[@Shyguymask]

21:52 Scary how accurate this is. When I was a kid starting to browse the internet in the early 2010s, I only stumbled on the so called Moon Man as a racist and edgy meme character. It took me many years to realize that he was supposed to be a family friendly Mcdonald mascot all along.

[@jayandjlps]

I feel bad for my guy "John Gay" bro was probably roasted every day for that name. Rip John

[@MorkedUP1]

Yeah I had no idea either, I thought Mac was created by the internet.

[@user-mg7wh8zq6v]

@@jayandjlps Mr Gay would u come up here and do this problem?

[@GEB_Rosee_PPS]

my first time hearing about mac tonight was from a fnaf fan-game "five nights at mac tonight" lul

[@Aflay1]

I knew he was a mascot for McDonald's, but like, I thought he was underrated or forgotten. I mean, he was deliberately forgotten, not just forgettable. Buried.

[@WaxPaper]

The real lesson here, which surprisingly hasn't been replicated since, is that you can effectively meme corporate IP out of existence. We should be doing this today, on purpose.

[@rayhanaghnozakrisetiawan6095]

I mean we kinda have done it with grubhub and that chocolate chippy thing but they are all too powerful or too pathetic for the companies to actually care unlike moon man... That or the moon crew really did a good job at exploting a lack of moderation of the internet back then...

[@Ciretako]

That's the Letterist/Situationist concept (and goal) of Détournement that you're describing! What McDonalds had done beforehand - taking what was originally an anticapitalist work, sanitising it for the purposes of capitalism and ultimately commodifying it - was Détournement's inverse, Recuperation.

[@fedoragent0077]

I was just thinking this… can we fight back against everyone’s favourite mega corporation?

[@JaCrispy3060]

Online censorship is way stronger than it used to be

[@godzilla1051]

No, as then it wouldn’t be funny

[@TheBlakeGG]

EmpLemon is the only dude who can make a half hour long video about a single advertisement and make it incredibly interesting

[@seronymus]

And link medieval history to a fast food chain.

[@internationallanguages-b4i]

For anyone reading the reply above me, don’t go to their channel or reply to them giving them attention. It’s what they want

[@DangerDan19]

Also Nick Robinson. Emplemon is better though

[@thewolfleader500]

cool checkmark. how about you stop talking now

[@Justin_Roiland]

This isnt about a single advertisement in any way, did you watch the video or just post for attention?

[@Flac_the_Wave]

I went to the Epic McD's in Orlando just a couple weeks ago, ended up sitting right under him by accident. Mac was still there and still playing music. Sadly it's right next to the playplace so his music is drowned out by screaming children, but it was still awesome to see in person. Had a pizza while I was there too, it was great.

[@peejasus]

So it's still there, officially? Fucking awesome. I'm going in a couple of days and I wanna see him so hard

[@durquax]

They have McPizza?

[@dalelee7853]

Damn i need to go there i miss the pizzas so much

[@explosivetaco6154]

@@durquaxthat’s was my first thought when I read this

[@spingleboygle]

mac tonight is pleading for mercy and begging the employees to get him down from there

[@Moffics]

Not only in internet culture, but Mac Tonight being a prominent vaporwave figure is so perfect because it brings him right back around to where he started-a satire of capitalism and consumerism

[@Paraselene_Tao]

I noticed how EmpLemon kept using vaporwave in the background.

[@frysco5927]

This

[@nobilesnovushomo58]

Only he makes it look beautiful, and gives a sense of easy-going nastolgia before worry.

[@CastafioreOnYoutube]

Perfection.

[@hap6782]

This made me want to listen to late night delight again

[@TwitterVS]

I love your videos. The stories you choose to tell have such interesting histories and you explain them in such a nice and entertaining way

[@ewetwentythree]

Absolutely, this was a crazy ride

[@Wheezy1]

The guy could sell ice to fuckin Eskimos as my father would say

[@A_real3am]

@homie got everything wrong 😐

[@mr.whimsic6902]

Empower releasing a video feels like getting a new present, and it always feels exciting

[@KookoCraft]

@homie got everything wrong 😐

[@JJMcCullough]

I was deathly afraid of Mac Tonight as a child. My parents still tease me about this.

[@jexcala7485]

Are you willing to do a video covering the alleged mass killings of Canadian Eskimo dogs?

[@KenM_1987]

I love your channel!

[@SkydreamerStudios]

Turns out you were right

[@plontest]

@@jexcala7485 r/aww r/wholesome 😜😍🥰🥰🥰🥺🥺🥺

[@spaghettimon3851]

Lmao! 😂😂😂

[@whatever32]

This is one of my favourite videos on youtube, period. The way you weave a story about counter culture being subsumed into mainstream consumerist Americana culture and then subverted once again back into satire over the course of hundreds of years… I don’t know, but there’s something that always strikes me as particularly profound whenever I watch it. It’s fascinating. Bravo, I wish I could find more videos like this one.

[@hand-jobs]

"The anthropomorphic crescent moon was a surreal window into the soul of American Enterprise." A bold and profound statement Mr lemon. Bravo

[@MrSevenEleven]

What, its gibberish lol, what does that even mean

[@torachan23]

@@MrSevenEleven Stupid people like "hand jobs" are easily impressed by other stupid people like EmpLemon pretending to be scholars

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

@@MrSevenEleven "A humanoid moon mascot revealed just how strange the world of business and marketing had gotten at the time."

[@asuka7309]

I love how you used Saint Pepsi in the background music, a vaporwave artist who has become heavily associated with the image of Mac Tonight in the last decade. A subtle nod to another chapter of Mac Tonight's legacy that wasn't explicitly mentioned in the video.

[@luisbueno8620]

Yes! I loved the music in this video being a vaporwave fan I knew once I saw the video title there would be some tie in to Saint Pepsi one way or another. Loved it

[@emma.jean.1189]

omg yes yes yessss!!! i’m so happy someone else mentioned saint pepsi, that’s all i could think about watching this and the background music was such a perfect nod

[@luissantiagoortega4240]

He also makes a reference to that on 24:50

[@Xavierhanacki]

This was what played after listening to saint pepsi around

[@duffman18]

@@luisbueno8620 Emp legit always has the best music choices of any KZbin creator

[@adlerblack.]

The fact that Doug fucking Jones was the guy who played Mac Tonight is the most earth-shattering revelation that will have absolutely no effect on my life.

[@buhgingo2933]

@mercury_stuck_in_1984 wha

[@wavewingman5993]

I have so much respect for Emp, retiring from the thing he was known for and spending his time making lengthy informative videos on whatever topic he feels like talking about. Absolutely respectable.

[@the_feisty_yeti_4101]

Mack The Knife has changed political associations so many times it's like a game of Ping Pong being played over a Political Compass

[@Ramsey276one]

What a wonderful choice of words LOVED IT

[@nuclearbomb9483]

Dvd screensaver bouncing inside

[@henrystammen5584]

captain Macheath: anarchist Mack the knife: communist mac tonight: capitalist Moonman: fascist

[@athy8763]

i can only imagine the original play version of mack the knife and mac tonight playing ping pong now.

[@Blav2]

joke robbery

[@MapleMilk]

I'm 12 minutes in and I realized that the greatest part about Emp's writing is how he can connect tangents like nobody else Like something goes from 1700s Opera to 1930s Germany to 1960s America back to Hamburg, Germany to go forward to 1980s America WHERE THE SONG FROM THE 1930s PLAY COMES BACK IN. It keeps me absolutely engaged wondering "Woah, how is this gonna connect back???" I love it

[@CoadyShay]

Yeah, that amazed me. And paced perfectly too.

[@archwaldo]

7:48 I have to admit, the "separated" golden arches of the early McDonald's restaurants looks really cool.

[@penisvongrabbinstein]

Fr

[@benisbored5446]

There was still one of those retro mcdonalds like that near me but they closed it to open a new bland mcdonalds across the street.

[@TyphlosionGirl]

I think there's still a few out there but dont quote me, I've only ever been to one in that style I believe.

[@ejm1225]

They should bring them back.

[@savary5050]

I genuinely think they would make a lot more money if they brought that design back

[@doggoprotector8419]

love this vid man, I rewatch this 10 times already. Perfect go-to vid for food time

[@gionator7041]

Everything's Borrowed, Nothing's Original, Make it an Emp Tonight.

[@DaRealBruner]

@Ordonity Don't bother replying to them. They're all just bots.

[@seronymus]

I recognize your avatar

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

Everything is derivative of something before it. All songs are based on earlier songs, with the earliest likely based on bird calls. The son of a dead singer claiming infringement of a song his father didn't even write is absurd.

[@gionator7041]

@@OtakuUnitedStudio So what you're saying is, we owe birds a lotta dough... or seed.

[@laotasurfs1110]

"It was the greasy, delicious future that all of us needed, but none of us deserved." You waited over thirteen minutes into the video to drop that line on us. Bravo.

[@laotasurfs1110]

Also: "Dodd Daren" sounds like a MADD Magazine spoof name.

[@AManOnline.]

EmpLemon has the unique ability to make me care about literally anything. His videos are just so well put together.

[@sparklesparklesparkle6318]

pretty sure the only reason anyone would want an Emp Tonite shirt is because they're unironically racist.

[@Tubeytime]

Almost anything, still don't care about nascar

[@J0mah]

@@sparklesparklesparkle6318 bait

[@flamingmonkey0281]

His Hungrybox video made me cry and care about smash, and I don't like playing that game

[@EresirThe1st]

@@sparklesparklesparkle6318 I'm unironically racist and I don't want one so there.

[@pickle_muffins]

The background music is perfect! Tony was the devil, the luxury elite and saint pepsi album, chefs kiss

[@samshapira8295]

There are two things in life we can't predict - When we'll die - What topic Emplemon is going to make his next video on.

[@versebuchanan512]

I'm throwing down five on "There will never ever be another another hoarder like the Collyer Brothers"

[@four-en-tee]

We're Never Ever going to get a video about TF2, are we?

[@ar6543]

I was reading this comment and went “hmmm is that REALLY true?” Before remembering that as of right now his latest video is about jar jar binks.

[@geezburgers]

The Moon Man segment of this video feels like the part of a celebrity documentary where they fall into drug abuse and crisis.

[@Potent_Techmology]

The hamburger wasn't invented in Hamburg, that's just were the English name for it comes from People have been putting ground meat in bread for centuries

[@younesmekran5086]

What?

[@zaiden2becausejustzaidenisused]

except worse

[@joe579003]

I wonder what Farkle is up to nowadays, hell, he might even be dead at this rate. Edit: God I was in college in 07, loved YTMND, and I fucked hated when the "Moon Crew" spammed the shit out of the site.

[@FPSDIESEL]

There is something to be said about the optimism of the 80s and ads like Mac Tonight. My college class recently reemed on an 80s romance movie for having a happy ending because the couple had conflict in it. It was so cynical, I get it everything is these days. I didn't even grow up through that but it's an attitude that needs to come back in some form. Amazing as always.

[@inversion9651]

It sucks that people thrive on negativity. By the way, I watch both of you.

[@nehehehgraylois]

i swear there's some conspiracy to break the masses spirits to glue them back together in their own image, tired of how deep rooted cynicism and self deprecation is in media these days. I ain't asking for sunshine and rainbows but a break from "god isn't real morty" would be nice

[@Cinnamonbuns13]

Our culture is addicted to "trauma" and self indulging nihilism. It's like one giant mass crab mentality where people have been propagandized to never expect joy so they criticize any depiction of someone else having it as less "authentic".

[@logicaltips4107]

@@Cinnamonbuns13 This. I only just recently changed my reading habits to reading stuff that's more light hearted and funnier and it's like being dropped in another world

[@howdoilogin]

Mac Tonight, race war tomorrow.

[@lthunt2073]

Thanks

[@kitzthekat7977]

"The hamburgers were quickly picking up steam in the US" while you show the steamed ham bit from the simpsons. Brilliant writing and editing 👌 Dont think we missed it 😉

[@Game_Hero]

And the whole chapter is named "steamed hams" with that!

[@mattsmith457]

That was a nice subtle joke but Im more of a fan of the intro "Any sane individual" and he shows the gigasigma patrick bateman 'shop

[@TELMEman]

I actually had to pause the video and walk away from my computer for a minute, that moment hit me THAT hard.

[@seronymus]

@@mattsmith457 i actually kissed that, genius

[@gostupidgocrazyyy4403]

I missed it :(

[@NotSomeJustinWithoutAMoustache]

Mac literally just went and had a 300+ year character arc with some of the most ridiculous, sometimes backwards character development lmao.

[@MrGoodGoy]

Since when is coming across crime statistics or studying behavior patterns backwards character development?

[@Newt2799]

@@MrGoodGoy Moon man would be proud

[@POINDEXTER-TV]

"You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain... and if you survive that, you become a meme"

[@Friday_Monday]

Who are you quoting

[@stickit2theman1]

@@Friday_Monday The Dark Knight Harvey Dent

[@Friday_Monday]

@@stickit2theman1 the part after the ellipses bonehead

[@stickit2theman1]

@@Friday_Monday says the dude who doesn't know how to use Google

[@Friday_Monday]

@@stickit2theman1 yeah I'm super dumb

[@ferinferno4224]

This is quite a late comment, but Mack the Knife's history does not only continue through Mac Tonight. Due to the widespread popularity of Bobby Darin's song, it inspired many artists around the globe. One of those artists was Ruben Blades, a Panamanian Salsa singer who took inspiration from Mack the Knife to make one of the genre's greatest and most iconic songs of all time: Pedro Navaja. Listen to it!

[@alessaisabel2000]

Thank you! I was looking for this comment. I didnt know anything about the original Mack the Knife or the german opera version, as a latin american born in the 2000s i only knew about the Rubén Blades salsa version but when i heard the first few seconds of the Bobby Darin version i literally screamed out loud "Pedro Navaja???"

[@5naf6]

the threepenny opera is still popular in the german speaking world and regularly enacted on stage

[@KravenTheKnight]

La vida te da sorpresas! Sorpresas te da la vida, ay Dios!

[@guyonyoutube3850]

"Why is Mac Tonight green?" To understand this, we need to know why Mac Tonight is white

[@EmoDKTsuchiya]

Spot

[@EthnicWeeb]

Best comment on the video, well done.

[@balisticsrooster]

Growing up my parents worked in advertising and graphic design. I remember finding a framed poster of Mac Tonight tucked away in their studio and just being awestruck. I was probably 6 or 7 years old and so confused why this poster was so hypnotic. It was like looking into a reaccuring dream I've never had, so nostalgic, yet so so new. I ended up hanging it in my room. I totally forgot about the poster until seeing this thumbnail, but I've never felt that way about a piece of art since. Looking back now its hilarious that the only time in my life I've had a real deep emotional reaction to art was from a McDonald's poster from the mid 80's.

[@Preserbius]

The casual reveal that Mac was played by Doug Jones is truly one of the great twists of cinema history

[@RTRC_2012]

I’m irl acquaintances with Doug, he's such a nice dude and plays all his roles so well!

[@mags9024]

I feel like Doug Jones is a golden thread woven through the last 40 years of popular culture and if you pulled that thread out, the entire sweater of our collective memories and aesthetic reality would unravel.

[@TheBabonnie]

Honestly it’s probably my favorite video on KZbin

[@MorbidMindedManiac]

“Before we talk about Mac Tonight, we must first go back to where it all started… In 1728…” Better strap ourselves in for this one

[@internationallanguages-b4i]

For anyone reading the reply above me, don’t go to their channel or reply to them giving them attention. It’s what they want

[@doubletimedesire2892]

@@internationallanguages-b4i what is the link tho

[@sebastianmorales7346]

With John Gay

[@georgelloydgonzalez]

Yeah, that really confused me until I realised where I had heard the name "MacHeath" before

[@mech_ow]

@mercury_stuck_in_1984 💀

[@Arvoyea]

It's nice to see someone put effort into going past the reputation of "Moonman" and actually showing the ad campaign's inspirations. just another great video that proves why I've been subscribed to you for years. great with words, smart editing, a unique selection in topics that prove your own personal interest and passion, and great taste in music of course.

[@Ronkyort0dox]

Dismantling?

[@Jeremy_the_unfallible_n-a]

But he talks about "Manipulative sales pitches" right after giving a highIy manipulative statistic IoI

[@Jobidenwakeup]

Moonman moonman can’t you see

[@zaspalia]

@@Jobidenwakeup D:

[@jamnightofficial3566]

@@Jeremy_the_unfallible_n-a where

[@infamoushacker4chan883]

Gotta say, whoever put together the old song "Mac the knife" and thought to change it to "Mac Tonight" is an absolute galaxy brain.

[@benepic3101]

Ancient? The song is less than 100 years old

[@YungM.D.]

Fun fact: The ThreePenny Opera was also an influence on Watchmen to an extent. “Tales from the Black Freighter” is named after the ship from “Pirate Jenny” Kinda weird that the 80s had two pop culture phenomena with references to this one opera

[@billyb7119]

Another fun fact: The actor who portrayed Max Headroom also played Moloch in the Watchmen movie adaptation.

[@etahadhd]

As a 2000's baby, if i hadn't watched this video I would've never even known moon man was a mcdonalds ad!

[@digits8490]

Same, i just thought it was a random character 4channers picked to make abhorrently racist and vulgar!

[@videoluvr4204]

put some respect on Mac Tonight's name!

[@ObservationofLimits]

McDonald's had some weird shit over the years. As costume actors died out of the Ronald and gang they started putting out animated movies instead.

[@Yoyobanana]

@@digits8490 I mean it kinda is

[@packrunnabski]

Faded than a hoe

[@NoahClevinger]

Seeing a brand new EmpLemon video is like waking up on Christmas morning! I love your videos so much.

[@thewolfleader500]

ok and what else

[@lithiumalt3434]

I saw to notification and jumped

[@JimmyJames10-k7v]

@homie got everything wrong nobody cares

[@roygethechicken2775]

And it snowed here in Tennessee after a month of sunshine. Literally a miracle.

[@rrightbraeden1161]

That's honestly the best way to describe it.

[@callumpower2k23]

Based on his past commentary on the state of the copywrite hounds, I'm sure emp is creaming his pants over the fact he can make money selling T-shirts featuring a greenified Mascot who used to belong to the clown. They literally won't touch it cos of the moon-man incident. 200 IQ play

[@adonaiyah2196]

The amount of Mid 2010s internet jargon in this comment is envigorating

[@dannymcdeeva]

Emp doesn't "cream his pants". Just saying.

[@mr.personalspace7831]

@@dannymcdeeva Right, he splorches his shorts.

[@unnoficialsatan741]

Precisely, making profit by selling t-shirts to the altr

[@xXx_Regulus_xXx]

@@unnoficialsatan741 scathing commentary from the nosebleeds

[@aidenm404]

I watched this video like 20 times already, the editing and the dialog is so interesting and I cant get enough of it, I wish Mac Tonight would return.

[@VideogameFrames]

Saint Pepsi’s “Enjoy Yourself” was the first Vaporwave song I ever heard, and the first time I had ever seen Mac Tonight. I’m glad you included it

[@therealspeedwagon1451]

The first time I saw him was in a similar vaporwave thing. The second time was probably one of the very racist rap songs that was done of him in a dark humor channel. Thankfully that channel was eventually removed because on the internet dark humor = racism.

[@Saltedroastedcaramel]

Same.

[@SomeGuy_Somewhere]

How did you hear that before Macintosh plus?

[@KingExalted]

Also the first time I’ve seen moon man as well when I first discovered Vaporwave. Honestly I’m happy I’ve found this genre of music cause now I like it.

[@benturner853]

At first, I was confused: how could Beggar’s Opera possibly lead to Mac Tonight. But then, Brecht adapted it. The second I heard “Mack” my brain made the connection to Bobby Darin and hamburgers. I don’t know how you do it Emp, but I’m not surprised. Keep it up.

[@tylerlarsen1842]

This is the guy who managed to make an allegory for the struggle of the Seminole tribe against the American government out of Brad Keselowski launching Carl Edwards at Ryan Newman to win at Talladega. What else would we expect from him?

[@taylorallen1026]

Enjoyed the references to mac’s vapor wave presence, which is where a lot of people know him from now

[@majamystic256]

vaporwave is where I first heard about mac tonight from

[@moisesrosario9716]

@@majamystic256 same i love the fact that nowadays he is more famous from vaporwave than from moonman

[@noir269]

@@moisesrosario9716 you can thank Saint Pepsi and Luxury Elite for that

[@MadLadMax]

@@noir269 E N J O Y Y O U R S E L F

[@HighFlyingOwlOfMinerva]

@@noir269 And the fact that any and all Moon Man video's have been wiped clean from this foresaken platform, too.

[@claraB1016]

I was born in '05, so I never saw any Mac Tonight advertising in the wild. I however did have one of those model/collectible things of Bill Elliott's car with the special mac branding (My dad is a nascar fan) as a child. I grew up wondering why the 'Mcdonald's car had a moon on it', lol. So seeing you mention Bill Elliott's car was neat! I like that you included it.

[@zaiah1215]

This is why I love emplemon, he makes small subjects so interesting and I love it. His content also gives me a “80’s/modern day” nostalgic feeling that I can’t describe. Keep up the good work!

[@superrupee]

Same nostagia is hitting *WAY* to hard

[@kappa731]

He can tie them to a point, which is probably the most brilliant part of it

[@zaiah1215]

@@superrupee Fr 💀

[@zaiah1215]

@@kappa731 Fr bro, I wanna make stories interesting like him someday

[@penisvongrabbinstein]

Yeaaa love that

[@TheChaospredator]

I love these topic that you choose. They have such an interesting history and the way you tell the story is marvelous. I am always looking forward to the next.

[@oswaldmosley5012]

I love what they did with moonman. Those were the good days of the internet.

[@xenophagia]

Emp has without a doubt become a master storyteller. The dude has come from making epic ytp and transcended to making top tier documentary films. BTW: The ad at the end is one of the most meta things I've ever seen. Even if it's a meme, it truly does make this epic documentary (which is essentially about an ad/advertising) one of the best advertisements I've ever seen also lol. Definitely going to grab a shirt 😂.

[@Thegreatercheese]

This is unironically one of the best videos on this entire website.

[@CPMASTER28]

Crazy to think that the guy who made youtube poops that I watched at 12 years old is now making some of the best content on the platform.

[@orlandofurioso7329]

Thank you, without your and the other og's support EmpLemon would have never grown so much

[@cobalttj6356]

This man could talk about the history of something as trite as blu-tac and still be one of the most interesting youtubers ever

[@Max_Le_Groom]

With a sugru advertisement at the start.

[@cougarstable73]

Bro, the way you're able to mesh so many themes, ideas, and arguments SEAMLESSLY together is astounding. Your editing, song choices, and graphics are all top-notch as well. You are the master of the video essay. 10/10

[@hectorg5809]

Bro

[@Ttegegg]

Who knew a critic of rich people. Who become one

[@Sweet_Z_Official]

I miss Mac Tonight, he was what inspired me to create unique characters of my own. I'm in the middle of writing about a cat character named Alfredo "Brother Love" Mason, who is a role model for the hippie lifestyle. His family was a long line of jazz musicians, but he chose to live a life of euphoria and peace.

[@kmprssr6922]

The chef boyardee commercial where the can falls off the shelf and follows the kid home is forever etched in my brain

[@lanceuppercut_]

28:37 I love how the McDonalds "M" was rotated 90 degrees to become an "E", very clever.

[@MrBradshawbenjamin]

My brain keeps seeing an "M" there, though

[@thebaseandtriflingcreature174]

@@MrBradshawbenjamin if you blur your eyes, it gets easier to see it

[@mazafakabitch1113]

In Russia it's rotated 180 degrees, so it would be Ш, for Шаурма

[@GrandMasterBruh]

Ironically whilst covering an advertisement, he releases quite possibly his greatest advertisement yet.

[@casuallatecomer7597]

Dude uses a documanary about a specific advertisement as an advertiesment for his own merch. I'm not even mad, it was brilliantly well done, props to EmpLemon's ability to tell a story.

[@wesphillips8058]

a pretty good documentary too

[@TELMEman]

Ngl, after watching his video on New Coke, I've been on a serious cola kick.

[@GadgetWusky]

He’s not just in the rafters, he’s around the corner from the arcade behind the elevator in the upstairs dining room, positioned so you might not even see him if you walked into that dining room. He represents not only the American tradition of getting McDonnalds on the way home from a long day at work, but also the American tradition of retiring and moving to Florida. And he’s still got it on the piano 👌

[@a_donut]

My dream, above everything, is to one day walk into a McDonalds, order and receive a shamrock shake and McRib at the same time, served by Mac Tonight himself. Thank you for this video.

[@abelq8008]

If you find yourself alone, standing in line with the moonlight on your face, do not be troubled. For you are in Elysium, and you're already dead!

[@imnolongerasking5933]

Still miss that sweet cup of bowel disturbance

[@none-qs3sl]

My dream is to never find spit in my mcdonalds food.

[@a_donut]

@@none-qs3sl Hopeful wishing

[@f3uibeghardt522]

That's dumb. It's way better to be served by a 4' tall Guatemalan who doesn't speak English.

[@Lylelanley99]

"At the turn of the 20th Century an new food item was quickly picking up steam." Fucking brilliant writing, Emp.

[@pointlessrandom7619]

I just realized, amazing.

[@NeoShameMan]

Not ham, aurora borealis tonight

[@goeland4585]

"I thought we were having steamed clams"

[@FourthDerivative]

Despite the fact that they are obviously grilled.

[@EnaTenkiyoGamer]

Our lemon is a emperor

[@footbroke]

I find Moonman to be hilarious. Turning a wholesome mascot made to sell you burgers into the most racist man imaginable is so funny to me. It's not the racism itself that's funny, it's that it's a man with a moon for a head originating from a McDonald's commercial that's doing it and that this wholesome mascot is as unabashedly and offensively racist as possible.

[@torondin]

exactamundo. Hell, classic Moonman had more than just racism, he also had an almost "Aristocrats"-esque air to what he did... Kinda makes you think.

[@AB0BA_69]

A society that has transcended crime and hunger sounds pretty good, though. And all you have to do is listen to a certain "Moonman"? Sounds like a good deal to me ;)

[@MegaManDied]

@J K ohohohohohohohoho perfect

[@ConsarnitTokkori]

...all that and the racism

[@AB0BA_69]

@@ConsarnitTokkori Can't be racist in an ethnostate, bro ;)

[@SMA2343]

I absolutely love Mac Tonight. Because it works. I legit wanted McDonald’s after it. Just something about it to have a burger, fries and your choice of soft drink listening to big band music makes it a very good commercial.

[@bennybalderrama7653]

"something new, something old, something borrowed and something blue" the perfect music set list. Emplemon is a man of culture

[@emmag6954]

If I'm being honest, Mac Tonight has such a charming and mesmerizing look and design choice. It is such an aesthetic and cool looking character and McDonalds should honestly bring him back in commercials. An idea of mine is that they should only show him in commercials during the night, showing his true aesthetic atmosphere and calmness.

[@seronymus]

Unfortunately especially in the modern cultural environment, McDonald's wouldn't be caught dead reviving Mac Tonight given the "Moon Man" memes any time soon, at least not in any Western(ized) country connected to media hysteria.

[@rouserouse5302]

God if only. But, I would rather not have the moon crew crawl out of their disgusting caves of sweat and piss.

[@SilberBrisingr]

This may sound cheesy but I legit got goosebumps once all the stories of history finally accumulated into Mac Tonight at 11:45. Love how you structure your videos, man

[@somebonehead]

Emp can see the poetry to life the way Neo sees the code in the Matrix.

[@SamuelKatz]

U should look up Jon bois

[@clicheguevara5282]

@@NationDixon You need to go pet a kitten my nigga

[@Plastic_Wrapp]

This is probably one of your best videos, all the way down to the thumbnail. So stoked for future videos!

[@intergalactichumanempire9759]

When I clicked on this video, my first thought was “this has to mention Moonman at least once” After watching the full video, I’m very happy this was the case.

[@fonkyfesh-old]

"A new food item was quickly picking up STEAM in the American cuisine" I love you Emp

[@blondie5835]

A cheers to saint Pepsi for helping to reinvent Mac tonight back into the show stopping and beloved performer he once was.

[@Haru-bv7uo]

I can't believe he didn't mention Saint Pepsi at all

[@TM-di5lu]

@@Haru-bv7uo didn't mention, yes but he is aware of it as he did the clip of saint pepsi enjoy yourself

[@chzcake44s]

Late Night Delight is basically the soundtrack, though.

[@Kawooo]

The music’s up to you…

[@RetsamX]

@@TM-di5lu I saw your comment exactly when it was shown in the video! Spooky.

[@skulli0077]

The quality and content in EmpLemon videos is unbelievable! Thanks a lot for sharing!

[@coolcat001100]

Even years later, you find a way to keep making fresh stuff, Emp. Not to mention doing so in such unexpected ways that make me care about stuff I never would have before. From one former YTPer to another, I tip my hat to you.

[@bondjames5792]

mad respect to the both of you indeed for what you have contributed

[@derelictgbdavidlovo107]

I went to the biggest McDonald’s in Florida for the explicit purpose of seeing the Mac Tonight animatronic, however the area where it was situated was off limits during the pandemic and I had to sit slightly away from him.

[@s0vnds]

Tragic

[@seronymus]

a fate worse than death

[@WraxTV]

Dang, even Mac was forced to socially distance.

[@Triplicata]

Seeing Emp without the glasses was weird, but seeing him in the same room as Charlie made my head spin.

[@idimation5579]

It’s the crossover I never knew I wanted.

[@gkraith2995]

They live on the same state.

[@steveweast475]

@@gkraith2995 they're both Florida Men

[@ahmadzahraniAAZ]

They have been doing that for years.

[@geodbro]

I get this video in my recommendations like every 2 weeks...and I watch it all the way through every single time...it's so good.

[@budbracewell4548]

This is literally the best channel on the site and it's not even close.

[@kanaifu1539]

no it isnt

[@theslungus1000]

Best? Definitely. Not even close? Ehh, there's a few, I.E Wendigoon is alright.

[@jayst]

1000% agree

[@Alexander_Grant]

@@theslungus1000 Wendigoon is awesome, but his use of visuals and audio isn’t close to this. You can’t take your eyes off an Emplemon video because you’ll miss something important. Wendigoon you can throw on like a podcast. Emp uses the full potential of the platform unlike any other channel.

[@RiceNoodlestw]

@@Alexander_Grant have to agree here. i like wendigoon, he stays in a mono shot mostly. i put him on for cooking or sleeping. emp is a all around storyteller. you have to watch it not just hear it.

[@Lildeadthing420]

im surprised there's no mention of vaporwave's fascination with mac tonight which seems like a resurgence for the character that was actually positive

[@PeterGriffin11]

He did play the vaporwave version of Off The Wall which is associated with Mac The Night but he never verbally acknowledged it.

[@Lildeadthing420]

@@PeterGriffin11 I should've mentioned that my bad! I was expecting I guess more than that

[@juanolivarez3092]

@@Lildeadthing420 Aside from Saint Pepsi's Enjoy Yourself and a brief visual allusion at the end with the caveman meme (24:50), yeah, I was expecting more, though I am also biased since that's how I know the character from.

[@bnuuy]

@@juanolivarez3092 he also played a few other tracks from Late Night Delight (the mac tonight vaporwave album) throughout the video, such as "CAN'T AFFORD" during the McMarketing segment, which is honestly very clever.

[@truemanmassat5919]

God that's the biggest miss ever, how do you skip even casually mentioning the posterchild for "popular internet music genre that hates corporatism" after all that setup on the origins

[@xDanKaix]

I think this might be the strongest merch drop of all time. I think the best part is when I watched it back a second time and realized just how meta it was. You turned this video into an ad drop and yet simultaneously analyzed your ad and how to make an affective ad while tricking us into thinking you were analyzing some other ad. You've earned a sale of your shirt from me.

[@rnf123]

This needs to be higher up.

[@timothyfrisch3707]

This is so well written. Such an engaging and informative presentation!

[@andrews4717]

Honestly it seems Moonman is closer to the original Mack the knife persona than the Mac Tonight version. A heinous, evil character who hates everything around him

[@whirlwind872]

Yes, he talks about that in the video lol in fact it's the entire end section, where he brings everything full circle and concludes the video on that poetic note.

[@Alex-tx2dh]

Yeah I was just thinking the same thing! Great minds think alike ;)

[@Slender_Man_186]

I’ve never even heard of Mack Tonight, my mind immediately went to Moonman the second I saw that talking moon again.

[@POSTELVIS]

I'm glad you're talking about the Beggar's opera, it was also one of the first opera's that used recognizable songs re-written to fit it's plot, and is considered a precursor of the musical comedy also Three penny opera has a song that is widely known by use of The Doors "moon over alabama" which is commonly known as "The whisky bar" song or "alabama song"

[@trevontheroad]

one small thing: Mac’s last appearance was on Jamie McMurray’s throwback car to the Bill Elliott scheme you mentioned in 2016

[@VeeZzz123]

A 30 minute ad that got me engaged and I won't forget, you really know your stuff