The series Mad Men, set in 1960s New York, is a fictional portrayal of, as the producers describe it, “the ruthlessly competitive men and women of Madison Avenue advertising, an ego-driven world where key players make an art of the sell”.
I don’t claim that advertising is now or has ever been a business for the faint of heart—but the true story is a lot more complicated than the AMC series portrays. To illustrate, I tracked down some video clips of three iconic copywriters: David Ogilvy, Leo Burnett, and Bill Bernbach. Though I don’t find that any of them had particularly warm and fuzzy personalities, I think it’s instructive to see how they present themselves and explain their respective businesses.
David Ogilvy…
Leo Burnett…
Mary Wells…
Bill Bernbach…
Their agencies today…
DDB Worldwide Communications Group…
About the Mad Men series…
From the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences: Interview about the making of Mad Men…
The original version of this post appeared in APRIL of 2012 / Chuck Green is the principal of Logic Arts, a design and marketing firm, a contributor to numerous magazines and websites, and the author of books published by Random House, Peachpit Press, and Rockport Publishers. Contact.
Thoughts?