The award-winning Mad Men will launch its fourth season on July 25. The AMC drama about the cutthroat world of advertising executives has become a cultural phenomenon. We admit to jumping on the bandwagon. And we are happy to share our five reasons for loving, really loving, those Mad Men and Women.
The big bows, the nipped in waist, tiny prints, hats with veils, little white gloves, patent leather pocketbooks, and the Jackie O swing coat—Sixties Style never went out of style and now has taken off thanks to Mad Men. True aficionados frequent the vintage shops for gently used items, whether the goal is to put together an entire outfit or accessorize a new one. Of course, the savvy fashionista tucked away those suits, dresses, sweaters and skirts in the closet (or saved them when mom or grandma was throwing them out), knowing that one day they would come back. For those who didn’t preserve these treasures and want to buy new, Banana Republic’s “Mad About Style” campaign will run through August and feature a style guide, window displays, a contest for a walk-on role in one of the episodes, and clothes to help you dress the part.
Forget the white wine and lite beer. Mad Men and Women enjoy real drinks—a Brandy Alexander, a Manhattan, the Harpoon, a Bloody Mary, an Old Fashioned, a Gibson Martini, and a Tom Collins. Drink historians (yes, they do exist) have lauded the show’s authenticity where cocktails are concerned. (A lapse in Season One involving Fielding beer, which did not exist in the U.S. at the time, has been forgiven). You don’t have to be a drinker to appreciate this part of the series. But if you want to get in the mood, go ahead and order that Screwdriver. We won’t tell.
Julie London (above) singing “Fly Me to the Moon,” Vic Damone crooning “On the Street Where You Live,” Ella Fitzgerald doing what Ella does best to “(I’ll Take) Manhattan.” The Sixties produced some great music and Mad Men does the most with it. Selecting a gem that may have been forgotten (remember “Dominique” by The Singing Nun?) never fails to surprise. How many fans have gone scrambling through those old vinyl albums looking for that once favorite song? (Where did you put “The End of the World,” sung by one-hit wonder Skeeter Davis?) As with any production, music helps to set the mood, move the plot along, and move us emotionally. And for those of us who remember some of these songs from when they were big hits, we also remember where we were then. Ah!
Mad Men brings us back to a time when Madison Avenue was synonymous with advertising. The big agencies—Ogilvy & Mather, Grey, J. Walter Thompson, BBDO, and many others—had their headquarters on or near the avenue. These were the days of creative geniuses like David Ogilvy, responsible for iconic ad campaigns like “The man in the Hathaway shirt,” and “Schweppervescence.” At lunchtime, upscale restaurants were filled with ad execs wining and dining clients, hoping to land that major account. For an hour every week, we can watch the execs at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce and recall a time when Madison Avenue was the creative center.
Clothes, cocktails, Madison Avenue—these make up the style of the show. But what Mad Men does brilliantly is remind us of a time and place when men were men and women were women—and we weren’t happy about it. Watch an episode of Mad Men and see how far we have come! In this 1960s ad world, women were secretaries, housewives, and often the target of sexual harassment, for which they had no recourse. Diversity was far off in the future. Smoking was allowed in the workplace and those who questioned the health effects were quickly closed down. (The creators defend including smoking in the show, saying not to recognize that people in the Sixties smoked a lot would be to sanitize the script. For the record, the actors smoke herbal cigarettes because tobacco smoking is not allowed on the set whether the episode is being filmed in New York or California).
Of course, these are only five of our reasons for loving Mad Men. We also love the cast—John Hamm, John Slattery, Vincent Kartheiser, January Jones, Christina Hendricks, and Elizabeth Moss. And we can’t wait to see what special guest stars show up in Season Four. The plot twists are being kept under wraps, so we will have to wait patiently. In the meantime, we just might indulge in that cocktail. Manhattans, anyone?
Mad Men, Season Four, premiers on AMC, 10 p.m. Sunday, July 25. Watch marathons of Season 2 beginning at 8 p.m. Monday, July 12, and Season 3, beginning at 8 p.m. Monday, July 19. For more information, go to www.amctv.com
All great reasons to love the show! I can’t wait to see what Joan is wearing/up to in Season 4!