Today’s post is about a fabulous serie I discovered couple months ago. Why today? Because today is the day the 3rd season airs officially on AMC and the day I will start stalking my (very legal) dvd shop downstairs.
If you haven’t watch the serie Madmen yet, watch it immediately. If you work in advertising and haven’t watch it yet, well, it’s almost an unforgivable sin but I am here to help you catch up with this show scoring 19 Emmy nominations this year.
The pitch
The serie is set in 1960 in New York and focus on a group of men and women working in an advertising agency. Through complex characters with different motivations and desires – success, freedom, the chase of the next thrill, the serie reflects American society and its evolution, dealing with themes such as sexism, homophobia and racism. The characters are entertwined in a web of affairs and adultery, compromises and power-playing. Just add a lot of smoking and drinking, and you’ve got the picture.
Beyond the Pitch
But beyond all this debauchery, there is a recurring nostalgia : the characters are living moments in their own lives and in the history when everything is on the verge of changing.The fear of losing control, the anxiety facing what we have in the present for a future still undefined.
That makes me feel nostalgic today. Not that I wish I lived in New York in 1960. I am perfectly fine in Shanghai 50 years later. But really, in this era full of hipsters, hobbos, poorgeois, look alike models reminding Aldous Huxley “Brave New World” and real TV eurotrash skinny boys and girls, it is refreshing to see some elegance on the screen.
I am not only talking about gorgeous women and men with an attitude, but about the global atmosphere and the beauty of the dark photography, the music and the dilemmas.
The elegance of living in a different scale of time : just imagine for 2 seconds working with no emails no cell phones, pitching to clients with a real draws and not some bullet points ppt, drinking martinis instead of instant coffee or herbal tea to brainstorm and celebrate. If there is such an agency today, I am available for an interview ..
So the show naturally stands out and AMC does it all. The
official website has lots of features and advergames including quizz, fashion files and cocktail guide. I couldn’t resist when I saw the link to
Madmen Yourself : nothing new in terms of interactivity, just some fun to reward the fans. And y
our Fans are your best ambassadors
In China ?
The show is not broadcasted in Mainland China but a couple months ago, a good friend of mine had the brilliant idea to throw a
Madmen party in Beijing. Basically it was about getting dressed up 60′s style, drinking Old Fashion and Martinis, trying to behave while listening to Jazz in a private Penthouse – one of the best parties I attended this year. It’s a shame the Stylites website doesn’t show more pics of the ladies as they were gorgeous (I do have some of these pictures somewhere).
The learn? Conquest your audience and they will happily work for you…for free
PS Shanghai fellows, we should definitely throw one in Shanghai just for the sake of being in the asian New York of the 3rd millenium..
