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Mad men or sad men?

Posted in General, Advertising, Branwell Johnson, Latest reporters' blogs March 4th, 2008 by Branwell Johnson

BBC Four’s new drama series on 60s advertising, Mad Men, did what it said it would on the tin – but is that exciting and engaging enough? Not in my book, I won’t be returning to the trials and tribulations of Madison Avenue.

The show itself was pretty dull – if the plot is going to be driven by trying to win a pitch each week that’s not very gripping. The characters are all unlikeable – not a drawback considering this is from the pen of a Sopranos writer, but the people paraded so far are not even warm, witty or that interesting.

There is no-one to act as a moral compass, a la Jack in Lost, or even act heroically. Funny, isn’t it, how very profession, from doctors to lawyers, tries to self-mythologise and imagine itself as some kind of swaggering, warrior tribe or lords of the universe. If Mad Men is subtly pricking this balloon of pretension then that’s interesting, if not, then it’s tediously adding to the pile of fetishised fools that includes Frank and the Rat Pack and East End gangsters.

On the back o the show plenty of nostalgia buffs and old timers are lauding the 60s as the perfect time to work in advertising. Looked pretty dull to me. What the heck did they do with their time apart from drink themselves in to oblivion? With so few media channels to exploit boredom must’ve set in by, oh, 10.30 am? It seems a far more exciting time now with more challenges to stretch the grey matter, more interesting people from so many different areas of communication to work with and a greater sense of achievement.

And don’t worry, there is still plenty of drinking and philandering (or so I hear) going on within Soho’s square mile, if not outside, if that’s what floats your boat. Anyone going to do a  soft sell for Mad Men to me?