Mad Men
There's a new drama on AMC (Channel 55 in the Toronto area) called Mad Man -- the self-described men of Madison Avenue. It's set in the early 60's when the men wore Brill Creme, wing-tips, white shirts, suites and ties, and women, well, women were secretaires.
As I watched last week's first episode (the 2nd episode airs tonight), I was impressed by how well they captured the era from an art direction perspective. And while the story is typically soapy when it comes to their personal lives, they've nailed the business environment and what advertising was like back when I was watching repeats of Bewitched after school.
But what struck me most was how much more interesting and complicated the world of advertising is today -- and how lucky I feel to be in the thick of it, rather than 30-odd years ago when all you had to worry about was a 30-second spot and a newspaper print ad. Today, as creative business people, it's hard to even describe what we do as "advertising". A better word might be "idea-generating" because it doesn't matter how we reach the consumer, as long as we do. Mad Men had a hammer and a screwdriver in their toolbox. We have those tools and just about everything else you can imagine.
Although it certainly isn't any easier today than it was then, even with the bigger tool box. The reason is simple. The consumer is much more complicated, educated, diverse and pro-active than ever before. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
So would I want to go back and work in that oh-so-politically-incorrect-but well-dressed era if I could? Not a chance. Although I do like a nice dry neat martini.
