Mad Men is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The series airs on Sunday evenings on the American cable network AMC and is produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007, and is currently broadcasting its fifth 13 episode season.[1]
Mad Men is set in the 1960s, initially at the fictional Sterling Cooper advertising agency on Madison Avenue in New York City, and later at the newly created firm Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.[2] The focal point of the series is Don Draper (Jon Hamm), creative director at Sterling Cooper and a founding partner at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, and the people in his life, both in and out of the office. As such, it regularly depicts the changing moods and social mores of 1960s America.
Mad Men has received critical acclaim, particularly for its historical authenticity and visual style, and has won multiple awards, including fifteen Emmys and four Golden Globes. It is the first basic cable series to win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, winning it in each of its first four seasons in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011.[3]
In 2000, while working as a staff writer for Becker, Matthew Weiner wrote the first draft for the pilot of what would later be called Mad Men as a spec script.[4][5] Television producer David Chase recruited Weiner to work as a writer on his HBO series The Sopranos after reading the pilot script in 2002.[4][6] "It was lively, and it had something new to say," Chase said. "Here was someone [Weiner] who had written a story about advertising in the 1960s, and was looking at recent American history through that prism."[6] Weiner set the pilot script aside for the next seven years — during which time neither HBO nor Showtime expressed interest in the project[4][5]—until The Sopranos was completing its final season and cable network AMC happened to be in the market for new programming.[6] "The network was looking for distinction in launching its first original series," according to AMC Networks president Ed Carroll, "and we took a bet that quality would win out over formulaic mass appeal."[4][7]
Tim Hunter, the director of a half-dozen episodes from the show's first two seasons, called Mad Men a "very well-run show". He said:[8]
They have a lot of production meetings during pre-production. The day the script comes in we all meet for a first page turn, and Matt starts telling us how he envisions it. Then there's a "tone" meeting a few days later where Matt tells us how he envisions it. And then there's a final full crew production meeting...
The pilot episode was shot at Silvercup Studios and various locations around New York City; subsequent episodes have been filmed at Los Angeles Center Studios.[9][10] It is available in high definition for showing on AMC-HD and on video-on-demand services available from various cable affiliates.[11] The writers, including Weiner, amassed volumes of research on the period in which Mad Men takes place so as to make most aspects of the series—including detailed set designs, costume design, and props—historically accurate,[5][6][12] producing an authentic visual style that garnered critical praise.[13][14][15] Each episode has a budget between $2–2.5 million, though the pilot episode's budget was over $3 million.[4][5] On the scenes featuring smoking, Weiner stated: "Doing this show without smoking would've been a joke. It would've been sanitary and it would've been phony."[12] Since the actors cannot, by California law, smoke tobacco cigarettes in their workplace, they instead smoke herbal cigarettes.[4][12] Robert Morse was cast in the role of senior partner Bertram Cooper; Morse starred in two 1967 films about amoral businessmen, A Guide for the Married Man (1967), a source of inspiration for Weiner,[6] and How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying (1967), in which Morse recreated his role from the 1961 Broadway play of the same name, (and which was itself based on a satiric novel by a former executive at the now-defunct New York ad agency, Benton & Bowles, Inc.).[16]
Weiner collaborated with cinematographer Phil Abraham and production designers Robert Shaw (who worked on the pilot only) and Dan Bishop to develop a visual style that was "influenced more by cinema than television."[10] Alan Taylor, a veteran director of The Sopranos, directed the pilot and also helped establish the series' visual tone.[17] To convey an "air of mystery" around Don Draper, Taylor tended to shoot from behind him or would frame him partially obscured. Many scenes set at Sterling Cooper were shot lower-than-eyeline to incorporate the ceilings into the composition of frame; this reflects the photography, graphic design and architecture of the period. Alan felt that neither steadicam nor handheld camera work would be appropriate to the "visual grammar of that time, and that aesthetic didn’t mesh with [their] classic approach"—accordingly, the sets were designed to be practical for dolly work.[10]
According to a 2011 Miller Tabak + Company estimate published in Barrons, Lions Gate Entertainment receives an estimated $2.71 million from AMC for each episode, a little less than the $2.84 million each episode costs to produce.[18]
In March 2011, after negotiations between the network and the series' creator, AMC picked up Mad Men for a fifth season, which premiered on March 25, 2012.[19] Weiner reportedly signed a $30 million contract which will keep him at the helm of the show for three more seasons.[20] A couple of weeks later, a Marie Claire interview with January Jones was published, noting the limits to that financial success when it comes to the actors: "We don’t get paid very much on the show and that’s well-documented. On the other hand, when you do television you have a steady paycheck each week, so that’s nice."[21]
Sales from home video and iTunes could amount to $100 million in revenue during the show's expected seven-year run, with international syndication sales bringing in an additional estimated $700,000 per episode.[18] That does not include the $71[18] to $100 million[22] estimated to come from a Netflix streaming video deal announced in April 2011.
The opening title sequence features credits superimposed over a graphic animation of a businessman falling from a height, surrounded by skyscrapers with reflections of period advertising posters and billboards, accompanied by a short edit of the instrumental "A Beautiful Mine" by RJD2. The businessman appears as a black-and-white silhouette. The titles, created by production house Imaginary Forces, pay homage to graphic designer Saul Bass's skyscraper-filled opening titles for Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest (1959) and falling man movie poster for Vertigo (1958); Weiner has listed Hitchcock as a major influence on the visual style of the series.[12] David Carbonara composes the original score for the series. Mad Men — Original Score Vol. 1 was released on January 13, 2009.
In a 2010 issue of TV Guide, the show’s opening title sequence ranked #9 on a list of TV's top 10 credits sequences, as selected by readers.[23]
At the end of almost all episodes, the show either fades to black or smash cut to black as period music or a theme by series composer, David Carbonara, plays during the ending credits; at least one episode ends with silence or ambient sounds. A few episodes have ended with more recent popular music, or with a diegetic song dissolving into the credits music. The Beatles authorized the use of "Tomorrow Never Knows" for the season 5 episode "Lady Lazarus", and the same track was used over the closing credits. It marked a rare instance where the band licensed their music for a television series. Lionsgate, who produces Mad Men, paid $250,000 for the use of the song in the episode.[24]
Matthew Weiner, creator of
Mad Men
In addition to having created the series, Matthew Weiner is the show runner, head writer, and an executive producer; he contributes to each episode—writing or co-writing the scripts, casting various roles, and approving costume and set designs.[4][5] He is notorious for being selective about all aspects of the series, and promotes a high level of secrecy around production details.[4][5] Tom Palmer served as a co-executive producer and writer on the first season. Scott Hornbacher (who later became an executive producer[9]), Todd London, Lisa Albert, Andre Jacquemetton, and Maria Jacquemetton were producers on the first season. Palmer, Albert, Andre Jacquemetton, and Maria Jacquemetton were also writers on the first season. Bridget Bedard, Chris Provenzano, and writer's assistant Robin Veith complete the first season writing team.
Albert, Andre Jacquemetton, and Maria Jacquemetton returned as supervising producers for the second season. Veith also returned and was promoted to staff writer. Hornbacher replaced Palmer as co-executive producer for the second season. Consulting producers David Isaacs, Marti Noxon, Rick Cleveland, and Jane Anderson joined the crew for the second season. Weiner, Albert, Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, Veith, Noxon, Cleveland and Anderson were all writers for the second season. New writer's assistant Kater Gordon was the season's other writer. Isaacs, Cleveland and Anderson left the crew at the end of the second season.
Albert remained a supervising producer for the third season but Andre Jacquemetton and Maria Jacquemetton became consulting producers. Hornbacher was promoted again, this time to executive producer. Veith returned as a story editor and Gordon became a staff writer. Noxon remained a consulting producer and was joined by new consulting producer Frank Pierson. Dahvi Waller joined the crew as a co-producer. Weiner, Albert, Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, Veith, Noxon and Waller were all writers for the third season. New writer's assistant Erin Levy, executive story editor Cathryn Humphris, script co-ordinator Brett Johnson and freelance writer Andrew Colville complete the third season writing staff.
Alan Taylor, Phil Abraham, Jennifer Getzinger, Lesli Linka Glatter, Tim Hunter, Andrew Bernstein, and Michael Uppendahl are regular directors for the series. Matthew Weiner directs the season finales. Cast members John Slattery and Jon Hamm have also directed episodes.
As of the third season, seven of the nine writers for the show are women, in contrast to Writers Guild of America 2006 statistics that show male writers outnumber female writers by 2 to 1.[25] As Maria Jacquemetton noted:[25]
We have a predominately female writing staff—women from their early 20s to their 50s—and plenty of female department heads and directors. [Show creator] Matt Weiner and [executive producer] Scott Hornbacher hire people they believe in, based on their talent and their experience. "Can you capture this world? Can you bring great storytelling?"
File:Mad Men season 5 cast photo.jpg
Mad Men Season 5 core cast from left to right: Christina Hendricks, John Slattery, Jared Harris, Vincent Kartheiser, Jon Hamm, Robert Morse, Elisabeth Moss
Mad Men focuses mostly on Don Draper, although it features an ensemble cast representing several segments of society in 1960s New York. Mad Men places emphasis on recollective progression as a means of revealing the characters' past.[26]
- Don Draper (Jon Hamm): Creative director and junior partner of Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency and, as of the fourth season, a partner of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, he is the series' main character. He is a hard-drinking, chain-smoking executive with a shadowy past who has achieved success in advertising. He was married to Elizabeth "Betty" Draper and has three children with her, but his history of infidelity, along with his revelations to her about his past led to their separation at the end of season 3 and eventual divorce.[4][27] Draper's real name is Richard "Dick" Whitman;[28][29] during the Korean War, he assumed the identity of Lieutenant Don Draper, who was killed in front of Whitman, by switching their dog tags, because Draper was due to be sent home, and Dick could avoid further combat that way.[30]
- Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss): Olson rises from being Draper's secretary to being a copywriter with her own office.[31] She becomes pregnant with Pete Campbell's child, a pregnancy that neither she nor her family or coworkers seem to notice, until she goes to the emergency room due to illness, and they tell her she is in labor.[32] Campbell is unaware of her pregnancy until the end of season 2, when Peggy tells him that she gave the baby up for adoption.[33] In season 3, Peggy is approached by Duck Phillips to leave Sterling Cooper, but turns him down, despite the fact that his persistence leads to a romantic relationship. While he rarely acknowledges it, Don appreciates Peggy's abilities, leading him to choose her to go with him to Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. She is given more freedom to come up with her own creative advertising ideas, with Don always pushing her to be better.
- Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser): A young, ambitious account executive from an old New York family with connections and a privileged background. Campbell tries to blackmail Don Draper with the Dick Whitman information he has learned, but it doesn't work. Don and he are antagonistic some of the time, but later develop a grudging respect for each other, culminating in Don's approaching Pete over Ken Cosgrove when forming a new agency.[30] Campbell and his wife, Trudy, were unable to conceive a child early in their marriage, and he only learned of his child with Olson at the season 2 finale. At the end of season 3, dissatisfied with his treatment at Sterling Cooper regarding a promotion, he secretly plans to leave the firm. Unaware of this, Don Draper approaches Campbell with an offer to join his new firm as long as Pete brings accounts worth $8 million of cash flow. Campbell decides to join Draper, with the condition that he be made a partner, though his surname does not appear in the new firm's name (Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce). Campbell is one of the few characters in the show who does not smoke. He looks up to Don in many ways. Campbell is often shown cheating on his wife, and is not above manipulating and blackmailing women to get them to sleep with him.
- Betty Francis (née Hofstadt, formerly Draper) (January Jones): Don Draper's ex-wife and mother of their three children, Sally, Bobby, and Eugene Scott. Raised in the Philadelphia suburb of Elkins Park, Pennsylvania and a graduate of Bryn Mawr College, she met Don when she was a model in Manhattan and married him soon thereafter. At the start of the series, they have been married for seven years (1953–1960) and live in Ossining, New York. Over the course of the first two seasons, Betty gradually becomes aware of her husband's womanizing.[4] After a brief separation, Betty allows Don to return home when she learns she is pregnant with their third child, but first has a one-night stand of her own.[33] She leaves for Reno at the end of season 3, in December 1963, with the intention of divorcing Don. At the start of season 4, in November 1964, she has divorced Don and married Henry Francis.[34] She, the children, and her new husband move to Rye. Betty's relationship with her children is often strained, in particular with Sally.
- Joan Harris (née Holloway) (Christina Hendricks): Office manager and head of the secretarial pool at Sterling Cooper. She had a long-term affair with Roger Sterling until his two heart attacks caused him to end the relationship. In season 2, she becomes engaged to Dr. Greg Harris. By season 3, they are married and at Greg's request Joan quits her job at Sterling Cooper. Their marriage becomes tested when Greg's difficulties securing work as a surgeon force Joan to return to work at a department store, prompting her to call Roger Sterling to ask for his help in finding an office job. Because of her invaluable managerial skills, she is later hired for the new agency formed by Don, Roger, Bert and Lane. Meanwhile, Greg's desire to further his career as a surgeon leads him to obtain a commission in the Army, and early in season 4 he is sent to basic training and then to Vietnam. While her husband is deployed, Joan and Roger have one sexual encounter, which results in her becoming pregnant. Joan initially decides to terminate the pregnancy, but changes her mind and gives birth shortly before the beginning of season 5, with her husband unaware he is not the father.
- Roger Sterling (John Slattery): One of the two senior partners of Sterling Cooper, and one-time mentor to Don Draper. His father founded the firm with Bertram Cooper, hence his name comes before Cooper's in the firm's title. A picture in Cooper's office shows Roger as a child alongside Cooper as a young adult. In season 2, Bertram Cooper mentions that "the late Mrs. Cooper" introduced Sterling to his wife, Mona, whom Sterling is in the process of divorcing in favor of Don's former secretary, 22-year-old Jane.[31] Sterling served in the Navy during World War II and was a notorious womanizer (living like he was "on shore leave"[35]) until two heart attacks changed his perspective, although they did not affect his drinking or smoking habits, which remained excessive. Prior to his marriage to Jane, Roger had a longstanding affair with Joan Holloway. In season 4, he and Joan have a brief romantic encounter, and Joan becomes pregnant. It was revealed in season 3 that sometime in the mid-1950s, when Don was a salesman at a furrier, and eager to break into advertising, Roger met him and through that connection Don was hired. Season 4 also has Roger less involved with the day-to-day activities at SCDP than he was at Sterling Cooper. His primary function is to manage the Lucky Strike account, which is responsible for over half of SCDP's billings. However, in the "Chinese Wall" episode, it is revealed that Lucky Strike is moving its account to a rival agency, forcing a dramatic downsizing of the firm.
- Lane Pryce (Jared Harris); recurring season three, regular season four to present: The English financial officer installed by Sterling Cooper's new British parent company. He first appears in the first episode of season 3. His role so far has been that of a strict taskmaster who brings spending under control, especially by cutting out frivolous expenses. His efforts are so successful he was to be sent to India to enact cost-cutting measures, a move which Pryce was not looking forward to making after having settled in with his wife and child in New York. An unfortunate accident at work handicapped his replacement, thus allowing Pryce to keep his current position. Pryce is warming to American culture, and foresees some form of cultural and societal changes in his observations on American race relations. When Putnam, Powell, and Lowe is sold, he realizes he has become expendable, and negotiates to become a founding partner in the new agency alongside Don Draper, Bert Cooper, and Roger Sterling, Jr., with his firing all the employees who are going to go to the new firm, then getting fired himself, thus voiding the non-compete clauses in their contracts and freeing all of them to build a new firm.
- Bertram "Bert" Cooper (Robert Morse); recurring seasons one through two, regular season three to present: The somewhat eccentric senior partner at Sterling Cooper. He leaves the day-to-day running of the firm to Sterling and Draper, but is keenly aware of the firm's operations. Bertram is a Republican. He is fascinated by Japanese culture, requiring everybody, including clients, to remove their shoes before walking into his office (which is decorated with Japanese art). He is a fan of the writings of Ayn Rand and implies he knows her personally. Among his eccentricities, Bert frequently walks through the offices in his socks and intensely dislikes gum-chewing and smoking (an oddity for the time, especially considering Lucky Strike cigarettes is a major client). He owns a ranch in Montana and is a widower with no children. Don approaches him about buying back the agency at the end of the third season, which evolves into their forming the new Sterling Cooper firm. In season 4, Don and Peggy stumble upon an audio tape recording of Roger Sterling's memoirs that reveals that Bert received a war injury to his groin, and that ultimately he was castrated by an incompetent doctor. Later in season 4, in the episode "Blowing Smoke", when the agency is forced to radically downsize its staff following the loss of the Lucky Strike account, Bert tells the others that he is quitting the business. He isn't seen for the rest of the season, but is back at work at the beginning of season 5.
- Kenneth "Ken" Cosgrove (Aaron Staton): A young account executive originally from Vermont. Outside the office, Ken is an aspiring author who had a short story published in The Atlantic, which is a source of some envy by his co-workers, particularly the competitive Paul Kinsey and jealous Pete Campbell. Pete uses his wife Trudy's ex-boyfriend to have his short story published. According to his bio in The Atlantic, Ken attended Columbia University.[36] He has one admirer, art director Salvatore, who secretly has a crush on him.[37] Ken was promoted in the beginning of season 3 to Account Director, a role he shared with Pete Campbell. Later on, the more easy-going Ken is promoted over the more ambitious Campbell to Senior Vice President of Account Services. However, at the end of season 3, Draper and Sterling choose Pete over Ken for their new agency. During season 4, Ken joins SCDP after working for McCann Erickson (which bought Sterling Cooper) and BBDO. When Pete learns of Ken's return, he is initially upset with Lane Pryce for not telling him, since Pryce had authorized Ken's previous promotion over Pete. However, when Ken agrees to serve under Pete as accounts manager at SCDP, the two reconcile over lunch and Pete comes to realize that Ken is a practical choice to help bring new business to the firm.
- Harold "Harry" Crane (Rich Sommer): A bespectacled media buyer and head of Sterling Cooper's television department, which is created at Harry's initiative. Unlike his mostly Ivy League fellows, Harry went to the University of Wisconsin. Harry joins his colleagues in drinking and flirtations, though he is a dedicated husband and father. However, he does have a drunken one-night stand with Pete's secretary in season 1, which leads to his being briefly kicked out of his home by his wife, Jennifer. He is ultimately coerced by Draper and Cooper into joining the new agency, although he realizes it is the right move. When Sterling Cooper was in the process of being sold, Harry mistakenly thinks they are considering opening a West Coast office and believes that he would be the person to move to California. Harry later becomes a bit of a braggart, who is overly fond of discussing his Hollywood connections.
- Sally Beth Draper (Kiernan Shipka); recurring seasons one through three, regular season four to present: The eldest child of Don and Betty Draper, her relationship with her mother is often strained. Sally is a minor character through the first two seasons, but assumes a larger role during the third season as she approaches adolescence. She forms a strong bond with her Grandpa Gene when he comes to live with the Drapers, and is devastated by his sudden death. She also becomes distraught when Don and Betty break the news that they are getting a divorce, reproaching her father for breaking his promise to always be there, and accusing her mother of making him leave. She also develops a relationship with Glen, a boy who lives down the street from her that her mothers does not approve of.
- Megan Draper (née Calvet) (Jessica Paré); recurring season four, regular season five to present: Don's wife (as of the beginning of season 5) and a junior copy writer at SCDP. Following the death of Miss Blankenship, she takes over as Don Draper's secretary. In the season 4 finale, Don takes Megan on a trip to California to take care of his kids. In spite of being involved with Faye, a marketing research consultant who works with SCDP, he proposes marriage to Megan while in California and she accepts. Megan is originally from Montreal, and French is her first language.
- Henry Francis (Christopher Stanley); recurring seasons three through four, regular season five to present: Is a political advisor with close connections to New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller and the Republican Party, it is later revealed that he serves as the Director of Public Relations and Research in the Governor's Office. He is instantly infatuated with Betty Draper when he meets a six-months pregnant Betty at the Sterling's Kentucky Derby party while she is waiting by the women's restroom. Later, as he is called upon by Betty Draper and some of her friends to use his influence to save a local reservoir, they develop a personal connection. Betty reciprocates Henry's attention because she increasingly feels no connection with Don due to his non-stop infidelities, lies over his true identity, and his sometimes verbally abusive attitude towards her. After the death of Betty's beloved father, the much older Henry also serves as a replacement father-figure for her. Henry and Betty have only a few brief and furtive meetings before Henry proposes marriage in the wake of the Kennedy assassinations. Season 3 ends with the two of them on a plane with baby Gene, presumably flying to Reno so Betty can obtain a quick divorce from Don. At the start of season 4, we see that Henry and Betty have married and Henry has rather uncomfortably taken up residence in the Drapers' house, living with Betty and her three children and paying rent to Don. He tries to soothe Betty as she continues to react angrily to Don and his irresponsibility towards the children, but gets more fed up over time. Betty, on her part, feels unaccepted by Henry's family, especially when she is unable to control Sally during a family visit to Henry's mother's house. At the end of season 4, they decide to move to Rye, NY.
- Stan Rizzo (Jay R. Ferguson); recurring season four, regular season five to present: Is the art director at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. Before coming to the company, he worked for Lyndon B. Johnson's 1964 Presidential campaign. He and Peggy are often at odds with each other due to his abrasive attitude, although the two later develop a strong working relationship after Peggy challenges Stan over working in the nude for a campaign, which Stan gruffly concedes to her. Stan is one of the few members of the SCDP creative department who survives the staff cuts.
- Salvatore "Sal" Romano (Bryan Batt); regular seasons one through three: The Italian-American former art director at Sterling Cooper. Sal is a closeted homosexual. Reluctant to act upon his homosexuality, he twice avoided sexual encounters with different men. By 1962, Sal had married Kitty, who seems unaware of Sal's sexual orientation, yet begins to realize that something is amiss in their relationship.[37] The issue of being closeted for Sal is shown in brief but stark contrast against the newly evolving social attitudes toward homosexuality. Sal's secret crush on Ken Cosgrove comes uncomfortably and awkwardly close to being revealed during a dinner in Sal's apartment.[37] Later, when a recently hired young advertising exec, Kurt, casually announces his homosexuality, Sal remains painfully silent while his fellow co-workers speak disparagingly about Kurt.[38] In the premiere of season 3, Sal has a brief interrupted homosexual encounter with a hotel employee while in Baltimore, the end of which Don accidentally witnesses. Don, who was in the midst of a heterosexual encounter of his own at the same hotel, finesses this uncomfortable situation through a coded conversation about their current client, London Fog. He suggests the tagline "Limit your exposure." Later in season 3, Sal rebuffs the sexual advances of Lee Garner Jr., the drunken playboy son of Lucky Strike's founder and a key client. Angered by the rejection, the client demands Sal be removed from the campaign and Roger fires Sal in order to appease the client and his $25 million account. In a conversation right after the firing, Don shakes his head at Sal, saying "you people," implying that Don is not sympathetic to people who aren't able to put the company ahead of their personal preferences.[39] At the end of the episode, Sal is seen calling his wife Kitty from a phone booth (presumably in Central Park), in an area frequented by gay men cruising for sex. On the phone, Sal was explaining to Kitty he would be home late that night. Sal did not appear again during the rest of the third season, and does not appear in the fourth season.[40]
- Paul Kinsey (Michael Gladis); regular seasons one through three, guest star season five: A creative copywriter and Princeton University alumnus, the bearded, pipe-smoking Paul prides himself on his politically liberal views. At some indeterminate time, he had a relationship with Joan Holloway which ended badly, largely because Paul talked about it too much. Paul tried, unsuccessfully, to date Peggy soon after she was hired by Sterling Cooper.[41] Through most of the second season, Paul dated Sheila White, an African-American woman from South Orange, New Jersey. They broke up while in Oxford, Mississippi, where they had gone as Freedom Riders to oppose segregation in the South.[31] It is a source of pride for Kinsey to live in the low-income, southern section of Montclair, New Jersey. He is highly competitive, an attribute revealed to have soured a few friendships while he was in college, and which causes some friction with Peggy Olson, culminating in his becoming angry when Don chooses Peggy for the new agency over him. Paul did not appear after the third season finale until he reappeared in the tenth episode of the fifth season, revealing himself to Harry as a disciple of Krishna Consciousness.
- Rachel Katz (née Menken) (Maggie Siff); regular season one, guest star season two: Is the Jewish head of a department store who becomes romantically involved with Draper after she comes to Sterling Cooper in search of an advertising agency to revamp her business' image. During the course of their affair, Don tells her things he has not shared with Midge Daniels or his wife. When Don is blackmailed by Pete Campbell, he comes to Rachel with the suggestion that they run away together to Los Angeles. She reminds him of his duty to his children, and questions whether he would want to abandon his children after having grown up without a father. When Don persists, Rachel comes to the realization that he didn't want to run away with her, he just wanted to run away. She calls him a coward. Their friendship seems to collapse from that point on. Don encounters her again in season 2 while out to eat with Bobbie Barrett, finding out that Rachel is now Mrs. Katz, having since married a man named Tilden Katz. Though it appears that Don is only momentarily shaken by the news of her marriage, several episodes later, after drinking heavily with Roger and Freddie Rumsen, he gives his name as "Tilden Katz" to a bouncer outside an underground club Roger is trying to get them into.
| Season |
Episodes |
Season premiere |
Season finale |
| 1 |
13 |
July 19, 2007 |
October 18, 2007 |
| 2 |
13 |
July 27, 2008 |
October 26, 2008 |
| 3 |
13 |
August 16, 2009 |
November 8, 2009 |
| 4 |
13 |
July 25, 2010 |
October 17, 2010 |
| 5 |
13 |
March 25, 2012 |
June 10, 2012 |
Mad Men depicts parts of American society and culture of the 1960s, highlighting cigarette smoking, drinking, sexism, feminism, adultery, homophobia, and racism.[12][42] There are hints of the future and the radical changes of the 1960s. Themes of alienation, social mobility and ruthlessness also underpin the tone of the show. MSNBC noted that the series "mostly remains disconnected from the outside world, so the politics and cultural trends of the time are illustrated through people and their lives, not broad, sweeping arguments."[43] Creator Matthew Weiner called the series science fiction in the past, reasoning that just as science fiction uses a future world to discuss issues that concern us today, Mad Men uses the past to discuss issues that concern us today that we don't discuss openly.[44]
Mad Men has become the subject of much gender-based discussion. The show presents a subculture in which men, many who are engaged or married, frequently enter sexual relationships with other women. Critics have observed that most of the main characters have strayed outside of their marriages.[45]
Marie Wilson, in an op-ed for The Washington Post said that "it is difficult and painful to see the ways in which women and men dealt with each other and with power. It's painful because this behavior is not as far back in our past as we would like to think. Our daughters continually get the messages that power still comes through powerful men. And unfortunately being pretty is still a quality that can get you on the ladder - though it still won't take you to the top."[46]
The Los Angeles Times said that "the sexism, in particular, is almost suffocating, and not in the least fun to watch. But it's the force against which the most compelling female characters struggle, and the opposition that defines them. The interaction with everyday misogyny and condescension — the housewife whose shrink reports to her husband, the ad woman who's cut out of the after-hours wheeling and dealing — gives the characters purpose and shape."[47]
In Salon, Nelle Engoron explained that while Mad Men seems to illuminate gender issues, its male characters get off "scot-free" for their drinking and adultery, while the female characters are often punished.[48]
One columnist for Ms., Aviva Dove-Viebahn argues that "Mad Men straddles the line between a nuanced portrayal of how sexism and patriarchal entitlement shape lives, careers and social interactions in the 1960s (and, by extension, today) and a glorified rendering of the “fast-paced, chauvinistic world of 1960s advertising and all that comes with it.”"[49]
Melissa Witkowski, writing for The Guardian, argued that Peggy's ascendancy was marred because the show "strongly implies that no woman had ever been a copywriter at Sterling Cooper prior to Peggy, but the circumstances of her promotion imply that this was merely because no woman had ever happened to have shown talent in front of a man before," pointing out that Peggy's career path bore little resemblance to the stories of successful ad women of the time such as Mary Wells Lawrence and Jean Wade Rindlaub.[50]
ABC News noted that "as the show's time frame progressed into the 1960s, series creator Matthew Weiner didn't hold back in depicting a world of liquor-stocked offices, boozy lunches and alcohol-soaked dinners." One incident in Season 2 finds advertising executive Freddy Rumsen losing his job after urinating on himself. Don, Betty, Herman 'Duck' Phillips, and Roger Sterling were singled out by television reporters for their excessive drinking. ABC News also quoted an addiction specialist who said that "over the last ten years, alcoholism has been more fully understood as a disease. But in the sixties, bad behavior resulting from heavy drinking could be considered 'macho' and even romantic, rather than as a compulsive use of alcohol despite adverse consequences."[51] One reviewer called the fourth season a "sobering tale of drunken excess" as the Don Draper character struggled with his addiction to alcohol.[52]
The Los Angeles Times opined that Mad Men excels at "stories of characters fighting to achieve personal liberation in the restless years before the advent of the full-blown culture wars."[47] One reviewer was excited that the fourth season, through Peggy, brought "the introduction to the Counterculture (Andy Warhol as the King of Pop and Leader of the Band), with all the loud music, joint-passing, underground movies so present in those times. Peggy's visit to a loft, with a Life Magazine photo editor-"friend", placed her squarely in the center of the exciting creativity so rampant in the underground and also so rebellious against the mainstream."[53] The Huffington Post focused on one scene where "Peggy joins her new beatnik friends in the lobby while Pete stays behind with the SCDP partners to relish in his newly captured $6 million account. As they embark on their opposite trajectories, the camera lingers on their knowing glances. Here is where we find emotional truth."[54]
Television commentators have noted the series' study of personal identity, most significantly through Don Draper's identity fraud during the Korean War in which he took on another soldier's identity to get out of the war. Tim Goodman has said that the overriding theme of Mad Men is identity. Goodman called Don Draper "a man who's been living a lie for a long time. He's built to be a loner. And over the course of three seasons we've watched him carry this existential angst through a fairy-tale life of his own creation."[55]
Gawker noted that "Not only is the agency of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce in the business of spinning them—or at least warping the truth—to sell product, but the main character, Don Draper, is built on a lie. Just like one of his campaigns, his whole identity is a sweet fabrication, a kind of candy floss spun out of opportunity, innuendo, and straight-up falsehood."[56]
The New Republic writer Ruth Franklin said that "The show’s method is to take us behind the scenes of the branding of American icons—Lucky Strike cigarettes, Hilton hotels, Life cereal—to show us not how the products themselves were created, but how their “very sexy … very magical” images were dreamed up." She went on to say that "In this way, we are all Don Drapers, obsessed with selling an image rather than tending to what lies underneath. Draper’s fatal flaw is his lack of psychological awareness: He is at once perfectly tuned in to the desires of America and entirely out of touch with his own character".[57] One reviewer said that "Identity is a key theme in 'Mad Men, and nobody is ever quite who they appear to be. Each one is filled with thwarted ambitions and frustrated dreams, none more so than Don Draper himself, whose closet, it's gradually revealed over seasons one and two, is filled with proverbial skeletons."[58]
The San Francisco Chronicle has argued that the character of Don Draper is racist, stating, "Unless Don Draper was out marching for civil rights, and hired black interns or had a black girlfriend, it’s fantasy to think Draper wasn’t racist. Indeed, it would be inaccurate to the period to present him as not having racist views, yet achieving that level of success."[59] Change.org said, "the very absence of people of color in the main narrative of this show speaks volumes. To be clear, Mad Men is not about the mid-20th century. If it was, the show would deserve criticism for not making race a driving issue. But Mad Men is about Don Draper and the people in his orbit—middle- to upper-class white Americans living and working around Manhattan in the late '50s to mid-'60s. For these people, race and racism are largely invisible, until and unless the struggle for equality impinges upon their privilege."[60]
It has been argued that the show distorts history by erasing the stories of the successful men and women of color of 1960s-era Madison Avenue such as Clarence Holte, George Olden, and Caroline Robinson Jones.[50] Latoya Peterson, writing for Slate's Double X, argues that Mad Men isn't confronting racial issues, but glossing over them.[61] The Root's Michael Ross points out that the continued lack of black admen is rapidly becoming ahistorical.[62]
However, Slate writer Tanner Colby wrote an article praising the show's treatment of race and Madison Avenue as historically accurate, especially the storyline in the third season episode "The Fog" in which Pete Campbell's idea to market certain products specifically towards African-Americans is struck down by the racist company. Slate also referred to the fourth season episode "The Beautiful Girls," where Peggy Olson suggests Harry Belafonte as a spokesman for Fillmore Auto after Fillmore Auto faced a boycott for not hiring black employees. Don shoots down the idea. Colby also pointed to an expose published in a 1963 copy of Ad Age that revealed that "out of over 20,000 employees, the report identified only 25 blacks working in any kind of professional or creative capacity, i.e., nonclerical or custodial." Colby said that "Mad Men isn’t cowardly for avoiding race. Quite the opposite. It’s brave for being honest about Madison Avenue’s cowardice."[63]
Smoking, far more common in the United States of the 1960s than it is now, is featured throughout the series; many characters can be seen smoking several times in the course of an episode.[12] In the pilot, representatives of Lucky Strike cigarettes come to Sterling Cooper looking for a new advertising campaign in the wake of a Reader's Digest report that smoking will lead to various health issues including lung cancer.[64] Talk of smoking's being harmful to health and physical appearance is usually dismissed or ignored. In the fourth season, Draper writes an article for The New York Times called "Why I'm Quitting Tobacco" that announces Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce's refusal to take tobacco accounts. The finale finds the agency working for the American Cancer Society.
Viewership for the premiere at 10:00 pm on July 19, 2007, was higher than any other AMC original series to date.[65] The premiere attracted 900,000 viewers.[66] The numbers for the first season premiere were more than doubled for the heavily promoted[67] second season premiere.[68] A major drop in viewership for the episode following the second season premiere prompted concern from some television critics.[67][68]
However, the second season finale posted significantly higher numbers than the series' first season finale, and was up 20% over the season two average. 1.75 million viewers the second season finale of Mad Men. The cumulative audience for the episode was 2.9 million viewers, when the two re-broadcasts at 11:00 pm and 1:00 am were factored in.[69]
The third season premiere, which aired August 16, 2009, gained 2.8 million views on its first run, and 0.78 million with the 11:00 pm and 1:00 am repeats. In 2009, Mad Men was second in Nielsen's list of Top 10 timeshifted primetime TV programs, with a 57.7% gain in viewers, second only to the final season of Battlestar Galactica.[70]
The fourth season premiere of Mad Men was the most watched-episode in AMC history until the series premiere of the AMC original series The Walking Dead, clocking in at 2.9 million viewers, up five percent from the ratings for Season Three's debut and up 61 percent from the third season average.[71]
The fifth season premiere, "A Little Kiss" was the most watched-episode of Mad Men of all-time to date, receiving 3.5 million viewers and 1.6 million viewers in the 18–49 demographic. Before the fifth season, Mad Men had never achieved above a 1.0 in the 18–49 demographic. Charlie Collier, AMC's president, said that "For each of the five Mad Men seasons Matthew Weiner and his team have crafted a beautifully told story and each season a larger audience has responded; a rare accomplishment. We couldn’t be more proud of this program, the brilliant writers, cast and crew, and the entire team on each side of the camera."[72]
| Season |
Broadcast dates |
Premiere viewers
(in millions) |
| 1[66] |
July 19 – October 18, 2007 |
0.90 |
| 2[68] |
July 27 – October 26, 2008 |
2.00 |
| 3[73] |
August 16 – November 8, 2009 |
2.80 |
| 4[74] |
July 25 – October 17, 2010 |
2.92 |
| 5[72] |
March 25 – June 10, 2012 |
3.50 |
Mad Men has received high critical acclaim since its premiere.[75] The American Film Institute selected it as one of the 10 best television series of 2007,[76] 2008,[77] 2009,[78] and 2010.[79] and it was named the best television show of 2007 by the Television Critics Association[80] and several national publications, including the Chicago Tribune, The New York Times, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, TIME Magazine, and TV Guide.[81] On the review aggregator website Metacritic, the first season scored 77/100,[82] the second season scored 88/100,[83] the third season scored 87/100,[84] the fourth season scored 92/100,[85] and the fifth season scored 88/100.[86]
A New York Times reviewer called the series groundbreaking for "luxuriating in the not-so-distant past."[42] The San Francisco Chronicle called Mad Men "stylized, visually arresting [...] an adult drama of introspection and the inconvenience of modernity in a man's world."[13] A Chicago Sun-Times reviewer described the series as an "unsentimental portrayal of complicated 'whole people' who act with the more decent 1960 manners America has lost, while also playing grab-ass and crassly defaming subordinates."[87] The reaction at Entertainment Weekly was similar, noting how in the period in which Mad Men takes place, "play is part of work, sexual banter isn't yet harassment, and America is free of self-doubt, guilt, and countercultural confusion."[88] The Los Angeles Times said that the show had found "a strange and lovely space between nostalgia and political correctness."[89] The show also received critical praise for its historical accuracy – mainly its depictions of gender and racial bias, sexual dynamics in the workplace, and the high prevalence of smoking and drinking.[6][14][89][90]
The Washington Post agreed with most other reviews in regard to Mad Men's visual style, but disliked what was referred to as "lethargic" pacing of the storylines.[91] A review of the first season DVD set in the London Review of Books by Mark Greif was much less laudatory. Greif stated that the series was an "unpleasant little entry in the genre of Now We Know Better" as the cast was a series of historical stereotypes that failed to do anything except "congratulate the present."[92] In a February 2011 review of the show's first four seasons, critic Daniel Mendelsohn wrote a critical review that called Mad Men a "drama with aspirations to treating social and historical “issues”—the show is melodramatic rather than dramatic. By this I mean that it proceeds, for the most part, like a soap opera, serially (and often unbelievably) generating, and then resolving, successive personal crises (adulteries, abortions, premarital pregnancies, interracial affairs, alcoholism and drug addiction, etc.), rather than exploring, by means of believable conflicts between personality and situation, the contemporary social and cultural phenomena it regards with such fascination: sexism, misogyny, social hypocrisy, racism, the counterculture, and so forth."[93]
While Mad Men, Weiner and his creative team have "received critical acclaim for its historical authenticity and visual style",[94] opinions on Mad Men vary among people who worked in advertising during the 1960s.
According to Robert Levinson, a consultant for Mad Men who worked at BBDO from 1960 to 1980, "what [Matthew Weiner] captured was so real. The drinking was commonplace, the smoking was constant, the relationships between the executives and the secretaries was exactly right".[4] Jerry Della Femina, who worked as a copywriter in that era and later founded his own agency, said that the show is accurate in its depiction of "the smoking, the prejudice and the bigotry".[4]
Conversely, Allen Rosenshine, a copywriter who went on to lead BBDO, called the show a "total fabrication", saying "if anybody talked to women the way these goons do, they’d have been out on their ass".[95] George Lois, who worked at Doyle Dane Bernbach for a year before starting his own ad agency in 1960, said "Mad Men is nothing more than the fulfillment of every possible stereotype of the early 1960s bundled up nicely to convince consumers that the sort of morally repugnant behavior exhibited by its characters... is glamorous and vintage....[U]nlike the TV 'Mad Men,' we worked full, exhausting, joyous days: pitching new business, creating ideas, "comping" them up, storyboarding them, selling them, photographing them, and directing commercials. And our only 'extracurricular activity' was chasing fly balls and dunking basketballs on our agency softball and basketball teams!"[96]
Mad Men has been credited with setting off a wave of renewed interest in the fashion and culture of the early 1960s. According to The Guardian in 2008, the show was responsible for a revival in men's suits, especially suits resembling those of that time period, with higher waistbands and shorter jackets; as well as "everything from tortoise shell glasses to fedoras".[97] According to the website BabyCenter, the show led to the name "Betty" soaring in popularity for baby girls in the United States in 2010.[98]
New York Times theater critic Ben Brantley wrote that the success of Mad Men had turned "the booze-guzzling, chain-smoking, babe-chasing 1960s" into "Broadway’s decade du jour", citing three 1960s-set musicals that had appeared on Broadway in 2010 and 2011: revivals of Promises, Promises and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and a new musical, Catch Me If You Can.[99] Brantley also wrote, "I’m presuming that Mad Men is the reason this Promises, Promises is set not in the late ’60s, as the original was, but in 1962."[100]
The 2009 TNT series Trust Me, which ran for one season, was set at a modern-day advertising agency; television critic Tom Shales called it a cross between Mad Men and Nip/Tuck. Two network television series that premiered in 2011, Pan Am and the short-lived The Playboy Club, both set in 1963, have frequently been referred to as imitations of Mad Men.[101][102]
Don Draper's rendition of the Frank O'Hara poem 'Mayakovsky' from Meditations in an Emergency, at the end of episode one of season two, led to the poet's work entering the top 50 sales on Amazon.com.[89]
The appearance of actress Christina Hendricks as office manager Joan is said to have sparked a renewed interest in a voluptuous look for women, and to be partly responsible for, among other things, a 10% increase in breast implant surgery in Britain in 2010.[103]
The nostalgia for the fashions and social norms of the early 1960s engendered by Mad Men has been criticized by some commentators. Amy Benfer, writing in Salon, asked, "But isn’t it a little odd that a show that, among other things, warns about the dangers of seeing the past in too amber a light has spawned an industry devoted to fetishizing nostalgia for that same flawed past?"[104] Anna Kelna, in Ms. Magazine, wrote, "Mad Men itself might ascribe to the feminist agenda, but thanks to its pervasive impact on pop culture, the show is crafting a whole new generation of would-be Bettys (Draper’s stylish wife) not Peggys (the show’s ambitious “career girl”)."[105]
Mad Men is the multiple recipient of nominations and awards from various organizations, including the American Film Institute, Emmys and Creative Arts Emmys from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, a Peabody Award from the Peabody Board at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, Satellite Awards from the International Press Academy, and British Academy Television Awards from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
Numerous nominations and award has also been received from guilds and societies such as the Art Directors Guild, Casting Society of America, Cinema Audio Society, Costume Designers Guild, Directors Guild of America, Motion Picture Sound Editors, Producers Guild of America, Screen Actors Guild, Television Critics Association, and Writers Guild of America.
Award highlights include winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series four times, for each of its first four seasons; its fourth win tied the record for serial dramas set earlier by Hill Street Blues (1981–1984), L.A. Law (1987, 1989–1991), and The West Wing (2000–2003).[106]
Jon Hamm was the host of Saturday Night Live on October 26, 2008, during the show's 34th season. Mad Men was parodied on two skits from that episode. In one, "A-Holes: Pitch Meeting", Hamm is joined by two other Mad Men cast members in cameo appearances, Elisabeth Moss (who was called the morning of the show and asked to play Peggy, since Amy Poehler, who was going to do it, went into labor)[107] and John Slattery.[108] In another skit, "Don Draper's Guide to Picking Up Women," Hamm pokes fun at how easily his character seduces women.[109]
The Simpsons' episode "Treehouse of Horror XIX", which first aired in the United States on November 2, 2008, included a segment called "How to Get Ahead in Dead-Vertising"[110] The segment, an adaptation of the Mad Men animated title sequence, was the "inspiration" of executive producer Al Jean; it featured a "rotund, lunchbox-carrying figure, undoubtedly Homer Simpson, enter[ing] a living room and then float[ing] past windows bearing Springfield-centric displays that include a Duff Beer ad," with the Mad Men theme music on the soundtrack.[110] On November 27, 2011, The Simpsons aired the episode, "The Man in the Blue Flannel Pants", once again parodying Mad Men. It featured Mad Men actor John Slattery and creator Matthew Weiner.
The children's television show Sesame Street ran a child-friendly parody of Mad Men on November 11, 2009 (episode 4188). Muppet versions of Don Draper and two other advertising professionals are shown going on an "emotional rollercoaster," becoming "mad," "sad" and "happy," as they sort through pictures of an ad campaign featuring a cartoon bear.[111][112] When Miranda Barry of the Sesame Workshop was asked how such a parody is possible "given the drinking, smoking, and womanizing that's a big part of the AMC show", she compared it to their parody of Desperate Housewives: "You may have seen our parody called 'Desperate Houseplants.' It was about a houseplant not getting its needs met by the gardener. So it always works on two levels."[112]
In late 2010, the TV show Arthur had a parody of Mad Men in the episode "Nicked by a Name," using a character named Tom Taper instead of Don Draper.
In the 30 Rock episode "The Moms", Liz Lemon's mother, Margaret, mentions working for Sterling Cooper after graduating from secretarial school. In the episode "The Ones", Kenneth Parcell has an allergic reaction to strawberries and says "My real name... is Dick Whitman."
In the Community episode "Physical Education", the character Abed, a television and movie connoisseur, does an impression of Don Draper, after his peers encourage him to change his personality. He practices a conversation with Annie (played by Alison Brie, who plays Trudy Campbell on Mad Men). He offers her cigarettes, while putting on a deep voice and a flirtatious charm. As Annie leans in to kiss Abed, he quickly turns away and says, "Don Draper from Mad Men". While many of his friends are impressed, Shirley shouts, "Don't be him! He cheats on his wife!"
The television show House references Mad Men when Dr. Gregory House insults a high ranking man who works at a well-respected advertisement agency by calling him Don when his name is Dave.
Another parody entitled, "Malt Men" features actors Ryan Ridley and Eric Price as characters who advertise malt liquor beverages. The five-minute parody appears on Channel 101, a monthly short-film festival in Los Angeles.[113]
The comedy website Funny Or Die has a small series of skits entitled MA Men which transplants the show into present-day South Boston and invariably involves creating ad campaigns for various Boston businesses in which certain members of Boston's professional sports rivals are sodomized. Comedian Rob Delaney plays Draper, Joey McIntyre plays Roger, Nate Corddry plays Campbell, Jessica Chafin plays Joan, Jamie Denbo plays Peggy, Nat Faxon plays Salvatore, and Michaela Watkins plays Trudy.[114]
In the fifth episode of the second season of The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, it is revealed that Jon Hamm (who guest stars on the show) is playing himself and needs to return home as Mad Men begins filming shortly.
In promotion for the series, AMC aired multiple commercials and a behind the scenes documentary on the making of Mad Men before its premiere. The commercials mostly show the one (usually brief) sex scene from each episode of the season. The commercials, as well as the documentary, featured the song "You Know I'm No Good" by Amy Winehouse.[12] The documentary, in addition to trailers and sneak peeks of upcoming episodes, were released on the official AMC website. Mad Men was also made available at the iTunes Store on July 20, 2007, along with the "making of" documentary.[115]
For the second season, AMC undertook the largest marketing campaign it had ever launched, intending to reflect the "cinematic quality" of the series.[116] The Grand Central Terminal subway shuttle to Times Square was decorated with life-size posters of Jon Hamm as Don Draper, and quotes from the first season.[116] Inside Grand Central, groups of people dressed in period clothing would hand out "Sterling Cooper" business cards to promote the July 27 season premiere.[116] Window displays were arranged at 14 Bloomingdale's stores for exhibition throughout July, and a 45' by 100' wallscape was posted at the corner of Hollywood and Highland in downtown Hollywood.[116] Television commercials on various cable and local networks, full-page print ads, and a 30-second trailer in Landmark Theaters throughout July were also run in promotion of the series.[116] Television promotions for the second season featured the song "The Truth" by Handsome Boy Modelling School.[117]
The advertising campaign for the fifth season of Mad Men was conceived by the network as a way to promote the series after the 17-month break between seasons. A teaser campaign began in which posters, using images of the enigmatic "falling man" from the opening credits, were spread out on buildings in New York and Los Angeles. The New York Times ran a story about the image's similarity to the 9/11 falling man image. Some 9/11 family members accused the campaign of being insensitive. However, one family member accused The New York Times of creating a "kerfuffle where none exists", as well as using 9/11 family members to "write a story that refers only to your own feelings". AMC responded with a statement that said, "The image of Don Draper tumbling through space has been used since the show began in 2007 to represent a man whose life is in turmoil. The image used in the campaign is intended to serve as a metaphor for what is happening in Don Draper’s fictional life and in no way references actual events."[118]
The advertising campaign also included the use of posters that proclaimed "Adultery Is Back." The Atlantic Wire criticized the AMC campaign, saying "Not that we're some creaky old traditionalists who value monogamy above all else, but making that of all things the selling point for a brilliant, beautiful show seems a little silly."[119]
Promotion for Seasons 4 and 5 saw Mad Men and AMC partnering with Banana Republic for the Mad Men Casting Call, in which users submit photos of themselves in Mad Men style and one winner receives the opportunity for a walk-on role in an upcoming season.[120] Promotion for Seasons 3 and 4 included “Mad Men Yourself”, an interactive game in which the user can choose clothing and accessories for an avatar similar to the appearance of Mad Men characters, drawn in the sixties-inspired style of illustrator Dyna Moe.[121] “Mad Men Cocktail Culture” was also featured, an iPhone app that challenges users to create the perfect drink as featured in Mad Men episodes.[122] Another interactive game launched prior to Season 3, the “Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce Job Interview”, allowed users to answer questions based on various scenarios and then offered them a position in the Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce office.[123] Season 3 also included “Which Mad Man Are You?”, an interactive game in which users could find out which Mad Men character they were most like based on their answers to questions about various work and life situations.[124] Users can take trivia quizzes based on the years in which the Mad Men episodes take place[125] and find recipes for 1960s-era drinks on the Mad Men Cocktail Guide.[126] AMC's Mad Men website also features exclusive sneak peek and behind the scenes videos, episodic and behind-the-scenes photo galleries, episode and character guides, a blog, and a community forum.
| DVD/Blu-ray release |
Episodes |
Originally aired |
Release date |
| Region 1 |
Region 2 |
Region 4 |
|
The Complete First Season |
13 |
2007 |
July 1, 2008 (2008-07-01) |
June 30, 2008 (2008-06-30) |
November 26, 2008 (2008-11-26) |
|
|
The Complete Second Season |
13 |
2008 |
July 14, 2009 (2009-07-14) |
July 13, 2009 (2009-07-13) |
August 18, 2009 (2009-08-18) |
|
|
The Complete Third Season |
13 |
2009 |
March 23, 2010 (2010-03-23) |
April 26, 2010 (2010-04-26) |
June 2, 2010 (2010-06-02) |
|
|
The Complete Fourth Season |
13 |
2010 |
March 29, 2011 (2011-03-29) |
March 28, 2011 (2011-03-28) |
April 6, 2011 (2011-04-06) |
Inspired by the iconic Zippo brand, the DVD box set of the first season of Mad Men was designed like a flip-open Zippo lighter. Zippo subsequently developed two designs of lighters with "Mad Men" logos to be sold at the company headquarters and online.[127] The DVD box set, as well as a Blu-ray disc set, was released July 1, 2008; it features a total of 23 audio commentaries on the season's 13 episodes from various members of the cast and crew.[128]
For the third season, the clothing store Banana Republic partnered with Mad Men to create window displays at its U.S. stores, showing clothing inspired by the fashion of the show. The store also ran a "casting call" competition, in which participants were asked to mail photos of themselves in period fashion for a chance at a walk-on part in the show;[129] two winners were announced in October 2010.[130]
Another clothing promotion from the series' third season includes a "Mad-Men Edition" suit offered by American clothing retailer Brooks Brothers.[131] The suit is designed by the show's costume designer, Janie Bryant, and is based on an actual style sold by Brooks Brothers in the early 1960s.[131]
In spring 2010, Mattel released a series of limited-edition collectible Barbie and Ken dolls based on the characters Don and Betty Draper, Joan Holloway, and Roger Sterling.[132]
The fourth season saw the announcement of a collaboration between Janie Bryant and Californian-based company, Nailtini, to produce a limited-edition line of Mad Men nail polish. The four shades are entitled Bourbon Satin, French 75, Deauville and Stinger and are reported to have been inspired by the fabrics used to make cocktail dresses in the 1960s. The Mad Men nail polish line went on sale in the U.S. in late 2010.[133]
Mad Men has integrated product placement into its narratives. For instance, in a second season episode, the beer manufacturer Heineken is seen as a client seeking to bring its beer to the attention of American consumers. This placement was paid for by Heineken as an additional part of their advertising on the show. The closing episode of season two was broadcast (for its premiere) in the United States with only one brief commercial interruption: a short ad for Heineken beer.[134]
On June 20, 2007, the consumer-rights activist group Commercial Alert filed a complaint with the United States Distilled Spirits Council alleging that Mad Men sponsor Jack Daniel's whiskey was violating liquor advertising standards since the show features "depictions of overt sexual activity" as well as irresponsible intoxication.[135] Jack Daniel's was mentioned by name in the fifth episode.
During the fourth season, Unilever created a series of six retro commercials to be aired during the show in the United States. The ads are set at the fictional Smith Winter Mitchell advertising agency and take place during the same time period as Mad Men. The products used in the ads are Dove, Breyers, Hellman's, Klondike, Suave, and Vaseline.[136][137]
Some sources attribute other mentions of real life products on the show, such as ads worked on by the firm, or companies sought as clients including Utz potato chips, Maidenform, Gillette, American Airlines, Clearasil and others to product placement[138]
In an interview for the Archive of American Television on November 12, 2010, creator and showrunner Matthew Weiner stated that there is much less product placement on Mad Men than is commonly perceived, and that most real products featured (including Cadillac and Utz) are included for purposes of realism, with no product placement deals behind them. Weiner said: "There is very little [product placement], and it is an illusion propagated by the network. It never works out... Literally I've named four things in four seasons and there have probably been a hundred products on the show. Half of them are made up, no one's paying to be on the show."[139]
Weiner added that he is not opposed to product placement, provided that it could increase the show's budget or eliminate the advertising breaks. However, he says that the limited product placement in the show has been a frustrating experience for his creative team. Because of these frustrations, Weiner anticipates no product placement deals in future seasons. "I can say here and now, never again".[140] Weiner also expressed his regret at his inability to edit Mad Men's Wikipedia article to correct the misperception that real products on the show are the result of product placement deals.[141]
| Country |
Network |
 Argentina |
HBO Latin America |
 Australia |
Movie Extra, SBS One |
 Belarus |
Belarus-1 |
 Belgium |
Acht, 2BE, RTBF |
 Bolivia |
HBO Latin America |
 Brazil |
HBO Latin America, SBT |
 Bulgaria |
Nova Television |
 Canada |
AMC, Télé-Québec |
 Chile |
HBO Latin America |
 Colombia |
HBO Latin America |
 Costa Rica |
HBO Latin America |
 Croatia |
HRT |
 Cyprus |
LTV |
 Czech Republic |
TV Nova
Prima Cool |
 Denmark |
TV3 Puls |
 Dominican Republic |
HBO Latin America |
 Ecuador |
HBO Latin America |
 El Salvador |
HBO Latin America |
 Estonia |
Kanal 11 |
 Finland |
Nelonen |
 France |
Canal+ |
 Germany |
FOX Channel, ZDFneo |
 Greece |
Star Channel |
 Guatemala |
HBO Latin America |
 Honduras |
HBO Latin America |
 Hong Kong |
STAR World |
 Hungary |
m1, m2 |
 Iceland |
Stöð 2 |
 India |
Zee Café, FX Asia |
 Indonesia |
STAR World |
 Ireland |
RTÉ 2
Sky Atlantic (2012–) |
 Israel |
HOT3 |
 Italy |
Cult
FX
Rai 4 |
 Japan |
WOWOW |
 Kazakhstan |
Channel One |
 Kenya |
Kenya Television Network |
 Latvia |
TV3, Fox Life |
 Lithuania |
Lietuvos Rytas TV |
 Macedonia |
Alfa TV |
 Malaysia |
FX |
 Mexico |
HBO Latin America, Once TV |
 Netherlands |
NED 2 |
 New Zealand |
SoHo |
 Nicaragua |
HBO Latin America |
 Norway |
TVNorge |
 Pakistan |
STAR World |
 Panama |
HBO Latin America |
 Paraguay |
HBO Latin America |
 Peru |
HBO Latin America |
 Philippines |
Jack TV
Studio 23 |
 Poland |
TVN, FOXlife |
 Portugal |
RTP2, FOX life |
 Puerto Rico |
AMC |
 Romania |
TVR1, Prima TV |
 Russia |
Channel One, FOX life |
 Saudi Arabia |
MBC4
Orbit Showtime |
 Singapore |
FX |
 Slovenia |
RTV SLO |
 South Africa |
M-net |
 Spain |
Fox, Canal+ |
 Serbia |
Fox Life |
 Sweden |
Kanal 5 |
 Switzerland |
SF 1
TSR1 |
 Taiwan |
STAR World |
 Thailand |
STAR World |
 Turkey |
CNBC-e |
 Ukraine |
Mega |
 United Arab Emirates |
OSN First |
 United Kingdom |
BBC Four (2008–2011)
Sky Atlantic (2012–) |
 United States |
AMC |
 Uruguay |
HBO Latin America |
 Venezuela |
HBO Latin America |
- ^ Fixmer, Andy (March 31, 2011). "‘Mad Men’ to Return for Two More Seasons After Standoff With Creator Ends". Bloomberg L.P.. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-01/-mad-men-to-return-for-two-more-seasons-after-standoff-with-creator-ends.html. Retrieved March 31, 2011.
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- ^ Forrester, Sharon (August 5, 2010). "Mad Men Nails". London, UK: Vogue.co.uk. http://www.vogue.co.uk/beauty/2010/08/05/janie-bryant-mad-men-nail-polish-line.
- ^ "Mad Men is Back and So is Product Placement". CNN Money. July 27, 2010. http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2010/fortune/1007/gallery.mad_men_products.fortune/6.html. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
- ^ Smith, Lynn (June 21, 2007). "'Mad Men' and Jack Daniel's: Bad mix?". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2007/jun/21/business/fi-jack21. Retrieved July 21, 2007.
- ^ Gallagher, Kona (September 3, 2010). "Behind the scenes of Unilever's retro 'Mad Men' ads". Aol TV. http://www.aoltv.com/2010/09/03/behind-the-scenes-of-unilevers-retro-mad-men-ads/. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
- ^ Smith Winter Mitchell Agency's channel on YouTube
- ^ Rick McGinnis (September 16, 2008). "Mad Men's product placement museum". Metronews.ca. http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/scene/article/112671. Retrieved October 21, 2008.
- ^ Matthew Weiner Interview. Archive of American Television. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation. November 12, 2010. Event occurs at part 6 of 7 32:30, 41:33. http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/matthew-weiner. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
- ^ Matthew Weiner Interview. Archive of American Television. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation. November 12, 2010. Event occurs at part 6 of 7 38:00. http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/matthew-weiner. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
- ^ Matthew Weiner Interview. Archive of American Television. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation. November 12, 2010. Event occurs at part 6 of 7 41:48. http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/matthew-weiner. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
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- The West Wing, season 2 (2001)
- The West Wing, season 3 (2002)
- The West Wing, season 4 (2003)
- The Sopranos (2004)
- Lost, season 1 (2005)
- 24, season 5 (2006)
- The Sopranos, season 6, part II (2007)
- Mad Men, season 1 (2008)
- Mad Men, season 2 (2009)
- Mad Men, season 3 (2010)
- Mad Men, season 4 (2011)
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- Twin Peaks (1990)
- Northern Exposure (1991)
- Northern Exposure (1992)
- NYPD Blue, season 1 (1993)
- The X-Files, season 1/season 2 (1994)
- Party of Five (1995)
- The X-Files, season 3/season 4 (1996)
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- The Practice (1998)
- The Sopranos (1999)
- The West Wing, season 1/season 2 (2000)
- Six Feet Under (2001)
- The Shield (2002)
- 24, season 2/season 3 (2003)
- Nip/Tuck, season 2 (2004)
- Lost, season 1/season 2 (2005)
- Grey's Anatomy, season 2/season 3 (2006)
- Mad Men, season 1 (2007)
- Mad Men, season 2 (2008)
- Mad Men, season 3 (2009)
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| The Sopranos |
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| Rome |
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| Mad Men |
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| Boardwalk Empire |
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| Game of Thrones |
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