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OVER THE PAST five seasons, a number of real brands have appeared on Mad Men as clients of Sterling Cooper, and now Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.
Those clients have included Jaguar, Kodak and cigarette company Lucky Strike.
But are the ads created by the agency in the show anything like the actual ads created for those brands 50 years ago?
We compared the ads created for the show with those that actually appeared. In most cases what we see on Mad Men is vastly different than the advertising put out by the brands during the 1960s.
1. Kodak
Don Draper pitches the Kodak Carousel account in Season 1: “Nostalgia. It’s delicate but potent. Switch it on.”
Here is the real ad for the Carousel, which was launched in 1962:
2. Swimwear company Jantzen
When Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce pitched Jantzen, the clients were turned off by the ‘wink’ in this ad
In reality, Jantzen wasn’t afraid of being a little provocative in its ads. This one is from 1960.
3. Life cereal
On the show, Life cereal wanted an ad that touted its health benefits. It rejected this Don Draper creation.
This ad from 1962 shows that Life cereal really was pushing a health message at the time.
4. Right Guard
When Draper & co land the Right Guard account, they create something they hope will appeal to female shoppers.
Real Right Guard ads in the 1960s also tried to appeal to women.
5. London Fog raincoats
In season 3, Don discovers that Sal is gay while on a business trip. That inspired this ad – where a woman flashes a man – for London Fog raincoats.
London Fog published this ad in 1964 by ad agency Leo Burnett.
6. Aquanet hairspray
In the show, Sterling Cooper pitches for the Aquanet hairspray account by acting out this commercial.
This couldn’t be further from Aquanet’s real ads during the early1960s, which starred The Three Stooges.
(Video: edwardscove/YouTube)
7. Playtex
When Sterling Cooper was told to up the ante on the Playtex account to compete with rival underwear company Maidenform, they came up with this topical beauty. Are you a Jackie or a Marilyn?
This was the ad that ran when the famous Cross Your Heart bra was launched in 1965. Soon after, Playtex would use actress Jane Russell as a spokeswoman.
8. Lucky Strike cigarettes
Lucky Strike was the big client on the Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce roster. Here is a sketch from Don Draper.
American footballer Frank Gifford was the Lucky Strike spokesman from 1961 to 1962. These ads are referenced in Mad Men with Lucky Strike’s slogan ‘It’s Toasted’.
9. Samsonite luggage
Don rejects a commercial for Samsonite featuring American footballer Joe Namath and instead opts for this ad, inspired by the fight between Muhammed Ali and Sonny Liston.
But this real Samsonite ad from 1964 emphasises the style of the luggage and not the strength (although previous campaigns had showcased the product’s strength).
10. Patio Diet Cola
For Patio Diet Cola, the team at Sterling Cooper put together this ad featuring an Ann Margaret lookalike parodying her famous sequence in the film “Bye Bye Birdie.”
Patio Diet Cola was introduced by Pepsi in 1963 with this ad. This is one of very few produced for the brand before it became Diet Pepsi.
11. Hilton hotels
Conrad Hilton comes to Don to ask for a new campaign for Hilton Hotels. This campaign – “Your window to the world” – failed to impress Hilton, who wanted Don to aim for the moon.
Hilton had a variety of campaigns in the 1960s. Some emphasised service, others locations, and still more world peace through travel. Here is one ad from that period.
12. Glo-Coat floor wax
Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce’s first hit campaign was for Glo-Coat. This TV commercial showed a little boy in a cowboy costume clamouring for someone to “get him out” of the jail he’s made behind a chair.
Johnson’s Glo-Coat commercials actually looked something like this. It’s corny, to say the least. We’ll go with the Draper version any day.
(Video: MiscVideos78rpm/YouTube)
(All images: Mad Men AMC/Business Insider)
The Hutch-Kinahan feud will finally be off the front pages.
In other news a whistle was stolen
@Trish O’Leary-Dunne: lol
Comments should be closed out of respect for the families of those who lost their lives in this tragedy.
@Robbie Clancy: They shudden have died. Arse ink allergy is treatable nowadaze!!
It’s time To Clare the Air
Clare Echo & the Clare Champion. Wow
@T Jay O’Mea: perhaps they should rename their paper now…….The Clare Loser
I seen it on Sky News and CNN
@Gabriel Holmes: *saw
@Neil Mac: when the last grammar correcting turkey was in secret hiding with his list of mispronounced and commonly missed used words clutched firmly to his chest he was discovered by a passerby who shouted ” I seeded him in that cave” everyone knew what the passerby meandid and the angry mob killdid him…
@Liam Meade: no
@Liam Meade: hahaha
In other news. A pigeon farted, however it was a silent one so he blamed it on a seagull who was in close proximity at the time.
@Robbie Clancy: that’s hilarious Robbie………..
Now that’s a Banner headline!
What’s black and white and tread all over?
I was a newspaper delivery man and we delivered every title from the Mirror to The Independent and Wexford People we didn’t get time to throw bundles under the van and drive over them several times plus there was only ever just me in the van we weren’t lucky enough to have help. Then again you’d want to be mad doing that job at 4am for very very little. These guys obviously had plenty of time.
@In my opinion: Is that a royal we so if there was only ever you, explain yourself / selves, whatever.
There was cross words everywhere
A fairly crappy thing to do in fairness LOL!
Nice PR stunt
This leads to an interesting report of the incident in The Champion’s next edition!
April Fools!! Slightly early though.
Hahahaha sssssake
Must be fake news
Very disappointing behaviour by the clare champion to a newly formed newspaper trying to get off the ground
Brexit, potential nuclear wars between the USA, N.Korea and Iran, Wars and mass migration in the Middle East …And now this. Who’d have thought law and order would have broken down on Craggy Island.
War de-clare-ed.
Not really front page headlines
Newspaper wars…
Tyre tracks make front page in clare!
If the sky falls, they shall catch larks in the Clare air.
Wow. The 2 top ranking members of the Clare cartel are really bringing heat on themselves . They’ll be all over the Sunday world tomorrow now. The gangsters nicknamed the paperman and the paper boy
Very disappointing behaviour by the clare champion to a newly formed newspaper trying to get off the ground
Very disappointing behaviour by the clare champion to a newly formed newspaper trying to get off the ground
Heads need to roll this is out of order these people represent the company and behaved appallingly
People may laugh, but it a very sinister act!
Hilarious considering one is free and the other isnt. Both are shite anyway
@Brian Clancy: if you’re into print media, the Echo is the future…free paper, guaranteed circulation and lots of interesting content. The Champion seems to be worried Lol.
Very disappointing behaviour by the clare champion to a newly formed newspaper trying to get off the ground
Its quite amazing that the Clare Daily don’t have an issue..
@GᗩᒪᒪEᖇY ᗩᑎᗪ ᗰᑌSEᑌᗰ ᑭᖇO-ᒪIᖴE STᗩᖴᖴ Iᑎ IᖇEᒪᗩᑎᗪ: If the Clare daily had an issue it would care.
@caspar ghost: I blame the flying columns.
here is this weeks traffic news in clare ” a road incident has taken place and gardai are investigating a hit on run on the victim identified as the clare echo not to be confused by the evening biddy early echo which also had on a fall on leeside . good news the clare echo is thankfully recovering and would like to thank the clare champion for its concerns . please note this county is n big enough for the both of us
#newspaperlivesmatter
You should see what my CCTV picks up… White Van drivers are scary…
@TamuMassif2019: Watch out for the ones that camouflage themselves in Red, they’re really scary, lmao.
here is this weeks traffic news in clare ” a road incident has taken place and gardai are investigating a hit on run on the victim identified as the clare echo not to be confused by the evening biddy early echo which also had on a fall on leeside . good news the clare echo is thankfully recovering and would like to thank the clare champion for its concerns . please note this county is n big enough for the both of us
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