Lessons from Mad Men
I will admit straight off that I am a big fan of Mad Men. I lived that life when I started my career at McCann-Erickson in 1975 in Detroit as a media planner. McCann-Erickson was known as Coke’s and Exxon’s agency. With the encouragement of these two clients, McCann-Erickson expanded globally and had multiple offices around the world. I was proud to work for such an advertising conglomerate and leader in the industry. We didn’t have the historical trauma of the Kennedy assassination and the Cuban missile crisis. But we did have the Cold War, Watergate and the Nixon resignation and Vietnam.
As a recent advertising grad student I was given lots of opportunity to innovate and create new approaches for buying media for GMC, Buick and the Detroit News. I had great mentors and leaders who appreciated my talents and creativity. Over seven years my career grew and I eventually become the research director for the Detroit office. I was exposed to new research innovations in the New York office. I made friendships with renowned industry leaders there who taught me a great deal about client service and consumer insights.
What has changed from those days of Mad Men in the '60's and '70's? What is similar to the advertising world we know today?
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Mad Men Days |
Similarities Between Mad Men and Today |
Today |
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Racial discrimination |
Focus on client relationships |
Big data and analytics |
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Sexism |
True consumer insights and analytics |
Personalized Content management |
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Anti-Semitic undertones |
Listening to the customer |
Strategy/differentiation |
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Creative ruled supreme |
Embracing creative impact and surprise |
Technology optimization |
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Account service was about relationships not strategy |
Power of a simple idea |
Web-enabled marketing and analytics |
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Technology optimization was nonexistent |
Under promise/over deliver |
Customer engagement through social media |
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Media buying focused on print and radio |
Be passionate and have fun |
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and the growth of social media platforms |
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Big Brands ruled |
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Racial and sexual parity |
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It was all about the new business pitch |
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Digital and Internet media rule |
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Defend a creative idea at all costs |
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Diminished influence of traditional media (TV radio and print) |
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Two martini lunches |
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Don't forget to have lunch |
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Large agency consolidation by conglomerates fueled by public markets |
| Proliferation of smaller agencies |
It is easy to be reminiscent and nostalgic about those old days of advertising. Especially now when we see how the industry has changed so dramatically with the advent of technology, personalized content management, digital mobile technology and the web. But the basics of those days still hold true. The focus on client relationships and service, true consumer insights and analytics, embracing creative impact and surprise, (we used to call it violating consumer expectations) and simply having fun. We shouldn’t forget those traits and only rely on technology alone which seems to be the case today.
I will miss Don Draper with all his flaws and the idiosyncrasies of his crew. Thank you Matthew Weiner, the show gave me good memories and weekly entertainment and enjoyment.