Why we are mad for Mad Men
The wait is over. It was a long 17 months, but Don Draper and the staff of Sterling Cooper is back for a 5th season. I may be crazy, but I think most people are interested in the creative process involved with advertising. How do you take a product and make people want to buy it?
Of course while the show focuses on the business and personal lives of the people in the firm, it also is a snapshot into what perhaps was the golden age of advertising. The U.S. was experiencing a post war surge in the economy and consumers had more disposable income and were wanting to spend it.
But why is the show so popular? Here are a few theories:
- Watching the creative process – and the business of advertising. While Sterling, Cooper, Draper, Pryce is a fictional ad agency, references are made to older advertising agencies that are still around – Young and Rubicam, Ogilvy & Mather. Some of the events referred to are fictional, some true.
- The commercials – seasons 1-4 had advertising history trivia before each of the commercials for products still around from the 1960’s. It is one of the few shows that I hung around specifically to see the ads.
- The office – secretaries, typewriters, people talked on the phones, no computers. The office politics – that hasn't changed. And of course the fashions – did people really wear these clothes?
- Watching the times change. The 1960s were such a period of upheaval, socially and politically that it is interesting to see how events affected people and the advertising business.
- Great quotes from Don Draper on advertising:
"Advertising is based on one thing, happiness. And you know what happiness is? Happiness is the smell of a new car. It's freedom from fear. It's a billboard on the side of the road that screams reassurance that whatever you are doing is okay. You are okay. "
And best of all, it has created a resurgence of interest in advertising. Check out a few of these titles available at TPL:
Enjoy season 5 – I know I am!
2 thoughts on “Why we are mad for Mad Men”
Thanks for the book recommendations. My wife and I became interested in vintage advertising after getting hooked on Mad Men, but we’d only gotten as far as Taschen’s series (All-American Ads)..
Vintage advertising is great. I like the Taschen series as well. I just had a look at the “Advertising from the Mad Men Era” – just arrived at our branch – and it has some great ads from the ’50s and ’60’s. You won’t be disappointed. Thanks for commenting.