The real issue is not talent as an independent element, but talent in relationship to will, desire, and persistence. Talent without these things vanishes and even modest talent with those characteristics grows.
_Milton Glaser
 
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San Jose advertising man likes TV's MADMEN
Tuesday, 12 August 2008

 

MADMEN is a phrased coined by Advertising Agencies executives on Madision Avenue in the late 1950's to describe themselves. “Madmen” It's a perfect title for the AMC origional TV series that just started it's second season.

 

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If Madmen stands for Madison Ave Advertising Agency, then would I be a Sadman? Stands to reason that people who work in San Jose Advertising Agencies could be called SADMEN. But that just doesn't sound right. Maybe we're all Madmen, regardless of location or historic period. It can be a crazy industry. There was a San Jose/Silicon Valley advertising agency some years back that had a great slogan. Back in the 1980's the Advertising Agency of Lutat & Battey used the classic phrase, “Madison Avenue Savvy. Silicon Valley Smarts.” The tagline was great, it barrowed from the creative legacy of those pioneers of madison avenue, yet showed that they understood the High Technology marketpalce. I think we, as an industry, all have an appreciation for the creative work of previous eras in Advertising and Design.

I’m jumping on the MadMen TV show bandwagon a little late. Last year I heard a little buzz around the office, but failed to catch a single episode the first season. On a whim, my wife picked up a copy of season one at the store. Did I really want to get hooked on another TV show? How could I not like watching a show about an advertising agency in the 60’s. The characters depicted are truly old school ad guys. Reminds me of some of the oldtimers that where nearing retirement when I broke into the Advertising business in the early 1980's. Especially some of the printing and paper company reps.

I find it a little hard to believe that, in any era or industry, men would have treated women the way they do in this show. Perhaps it is only meant to illustrate the difference from today’s ultra sensitivity to sexual harassment and political correctness. It makes for good TV. And they certainly had their “Three Martini Lunches” more then than now.
 
Regardless, the show is awesome! It is well written and has great characters. What I really love are the parts that have to do with the actual advertising agency. I saw the tail-end of advertising as they (The Madmen Characters) knew it. When I started in advertising and design business, we still did things the way they had been done for years:

 

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  • Thumbnails and Pencil sketches (which I still like to use)
  • Felt marker comps for presentation
  • Letraset press-on type (Wow, theystill make this stuff)
  • Inked Keylines on velum (Rapidograph pens)
  • Rubylith (I always wish they made it eatable)
  • Type-setting, Typographers, and Haberulers
  • Paste-up mechanicals
  • Ruber cement or Wax?
  • Stat Cameras
  • Pulling roids at photo shoots.
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These are all parts and memories of how I learned the Advertising business. This was the pre-computer era. Just like how they would have done things in 1960. Only without the (cigarette) smoking.
 
I got a big laugh this week (season2 #3), when Harry Crane walked into Salvatore’s office. Salvatore was using a big electric pencil eraser. This was not a little battery operated gizmo. Plug it in and you have pure Industrial strength erasing power. This would be the 1960’s version of today’s “Command Z” or the “Undo” buttons on your computer. So was Salvatore revising the Mohawk ads campaign into American Airlines ads?
 
I was very young in the 60’s. I was born March first 1960. A scene in the pilot episode shows a calendar on the wall. It’s dates March 1960.  Ironically, I feel like this show and I share two things in common. I was born the same month and year the pilot episode is set in, and I work in at an Advertising Agency. San jose is a long ways from Madison Ave. Think if I whore a Fidora I'd look as cool as Don Drapper? I'd like to think so, LOL. Atleast the hat would be cool.
 
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