Finally, I have come across an article from someone who agrees with my opinion of the show “Mad Men.” I am have expressed my opinion in this blog a couple of times, but just to recap:
It gives people the wrong impression of the advertising business today. It is easy to get caught up in the “glamor” of the show, but let’s remember, that is definitely not the world we work in today.
It is absolutely the most atrocious display of degradation towards women I have ever seen. While I recognize that may be close to the truth of the times represented, I have no desire to see it on television today.
“‘Mad Men’ is glamorous, it romanticizes our harried and hassled industry, and it lets us indulge our nostalgia for the Wild West pioneer days of the ad biz. Ah, yes — there were the three-martini lunches, the client boondoggles, the all-night benders after the annual budget meeting. There were no casual Fridays; the sharp-looking suits you see on TV were how all the dapper Don Drapers dressed. Men were in charge and women were in pursuit. The married ones were mild-mannered housewives, some desperate, some not. The working girls were cute dollybirds willing to do anything to catch a rich husband. Good times if you were a guy in the business; not so much if you were a gal.
I caught one of the recent reruns from the first season, and, just to stay current, tried to watch it all the way through. What raised the bile in the back of my throat was when the ad guys stumbled across the eternal question ‘What do women want?’ and the flippant reply was ‘Who cares?’ I don’t know about Leo Burnett or J. Walter Thompson, but ad legend David Ogilvy rolled in his grave at that moment. Here’s a guy who showed he understood what side his bread was buttered on when he said, ‘The consumer isn’t a moron; she is your wife.’”
An agency created the Stop sign? This video is a little too close to reality on many days in an agency. As agency professionals, we should strive to prevent events like this, but sadly, that is not always possible. Regardless, the video is pretty funny. Enjoy.
A continued theme in my readings and postings (here and here):
“The amount of video consumed on TV has dropped 5% among consumers who actively stream and download content…Meanwhile, movie theater consumption fell 2% while personal computer viewing grew 8%. One-in-five hours watching video is now done online.”
This article in Brandweek hit home for me, being in the age group surveyed and having made some of these same decisions lately. While we have been hearing for some time now that the economy is hurting, it seems as if the reaction has been a bit delayed by consumers this age. The brand list below was startling to me, especially among a group that is as brand conscious as Gen X/Y’s. Missing from this list is a technology brand and I wonder how long it will be before this groups stops buying new computers, cell phones, music players, etc. and what kind of increased impact that will have on the economy.
“Consumers 21-39 years old are feeling the economic pinch, according to a study conducted online by the Zandl Group on May 23. Sixty-one percent of the 312 men and women surveyed said they have become more frugal of late. Almost half (48%) said they frequent bars and clubs less, 39% are driving less and 35% are eating out less…This has a severe impact on what brands they are choosing. Here is a list of what companies and categories are keeping into favor and which are falling out of favor.
