“I pulled it out of thin air.”“The burgeoning field of research.”
“Advertising is based on one thing—happiness.”
These and other phrases from advertising’s Golden Age are on display in Mad Men, a Smithsonian exhibit of the way things were–or are? I borrowed that image from Jetpacks because I couldn’t tell much difference between the show and his ongoing blog series.
It’s a period docudrama depicting how agencies sold clients on not only things consumers didn’t need, but things that were also unhealthy like cigarettes. Old and new school will both go, yeah, dead on. But what’s changed? Consider also that you’re viewing societal behaviour that was anything but PC, but through today’s PC eyes. Not to mention the lack of humor. This thing feels so full of dread I had to watch Six Feet Under just to cheer up. Think thirtysomething with Buddy Holly glasses. Ok for a feature, but a steady diet of this? Thank You For Smoking nails the world of PR and marketing but does it with more bite and definitely more humor. But don’t take my word for it. Take it from George over at AdScam, one who lived it.
Tags: Mad Men
5 comments:
I think my favorite line was something like, "it's not like we have a machine that makes exact copies of documents."
ha ha... I don't think they meant it to be funny... but I laughed.
When they took the cover off the IBM Selectric, my wife, who is not really a fan of modern technology, practically moaned with nostalgia.
And Frank, notice there were only three things on that desk, yet they acted like it was advanced shuttle technology.
it's "thank you for smoking".
Thanks anon, yeah, I shoulda caught that earlier.
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