As Matthew Weiner and co. hauled home more Emmys on Sunday night (Mad Men scored its 3rd straight win for Best Drama), AMC forged ahead with another new episode of their mega-hit show in which, ironically, Don won his own award (a pretty ballsy move on Weiner’s part to air this episode on Emmy night, but that’s just how he rolls!). This week was all about past and present ambitions and power grabs at SCDP and the episode continued the trend of the company’s creatively-minded folk cutting through the clutter of formalities and inner-office practices. And yes: Peggy got naked.
Posts Tagged ‘advertising’
Working for the Weekend: Peggy Gets Naked in a Hotel Room (Season 4, Episode 6 of Mad Men)
Topic: Posted in ADVERTISING IS DEAD
Rival Agencies, Psychotic Ex-wives and Repetitive Placements (Or, Mad Men: Season 4, Episode 5)
Topic: Posted in ADVERTISING IS DEAD
It’s that time of the week — a new episode of your favorite primetime drama about the most despicable industry of all: advertising! This week’s entry in the Mad Men canon featured a plethora of both family and ad-related dramatics, and continued the insertion of an increasingly high-profile array of real-life brands opting (we’d assume) into the show’s historically hyper-accurate format. Read on for our behind-the-copy take on the hour’s events — especially the breaks that littered it.
California to Solve Budgetary Woes with ‘Death Plates’
Topic: Posted in ADVERTISING IS DEAD | INNOVATION MATTERS
For a wide range of issues, California is the battlefield where the next big thing and the status quo struggle for supremacy. From gay marriage to new emissions standards and the legalization of marijuana, the state that elected the half-human, half-mechanical Austrian as its governor is almost always on the forefront—for better or for worse. Once again, California is leading the way. This time the state is balancing its budget with new license plates that will turn highways into death traps!
The DVR-Busting Commercials of Mad Men (Episode 2)
Topic: Posted in ADVERTISING IS DEAD
Another week of Mad Men has brought us a new crop of advertising-themed ads. The commercial spots on this show represent a great opportunity to reach a smart and sophisticated viewership — after all, advertising is already on everyone’s mind. Given that, the knowing wink has got to be the modus operandi for brands in this setting. Anything else feels…jarring. But as we’ve found out, this isn’t easy to pull off.
Post Ad Anachronisms of the Mad Men Season 4 Premiere
Topic: Posted in ADVERTISING IS DEAD | GREAT CONTENT WINS
If you’re at all interested in the ad biz, we know where you were last night at 10pm: on the couch, eyes transfixed on the tube, eagerly ingesting the premiere of Mad Men’s fourth season. We grinned and beared the commercial interruptions (surprisingly engaging and relevant, thanks in part to BMW) to spend our Sunday evening catching up with Don Draper and company. Surprisingly, there’s a considerable amount of post-adness to be found in and around the new episode (it was broadcast live in Times Square, by the way). Let’s have a look at the key takeaways.
Apple’s iAds: Better Advertising, or More Rotten Monopolizing?
Topic: Posted in GREAT CONTENT WINS | INNOVATION MATTERS
This week, amidst the hubbub of the iPhone 4’s re-revealing, Steve Jobs also announced Apple’s first foray into the advertising biz. The predictably-titled iAd platform will launch July 1st. Promising to be both smarter and more engaging than the current standard, this in-app solution arms developers with a new stream of cash to support their free offerings. For brands, iAd is an opportunity to engage directly with the millions-strong network of “Passionate,” “Responsive,” and “Connected” Apple users. But antitrust regulators aren’t quite as jazzed about the initiative. The question is whether iAd is just another case of Apple’s corporate control freakishness or a genuinely exciting step away from the bad mobile ad-age? Let’s have an iLook.
Bowled Over By Budweiser and Google
Topic: Posted in CONSUMERS CONTROL BRANDS | EVERYONE IS A PUBLISHER
Loud, gimmicky, and crassly expensive, Super Bowl commercials have long epitomised old-school advertising. But there are signs that things are beginning to change.
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