Mad Men's Bad Ads

Although Mad Men has many merits, the blatant sexism of the show makes me wince. Because the show is not simply a wistful ode to the "good old days," I continue to watch despite that discomfort.

For example... Do I enjoy watching everyone refer to his secretary as his "girl"? Does it thrill me when Joan is raped by her soon-to-be husband? Do I long to return to a time of the most blatant sexual double-standards that force Peggy to agonize over whether to sleep with her boyfriend? No. No. No.

However, as Greta Christina points out in her piece on Carnal Nation*, Don Draper tends to connect with women who are very different from his now-ex Betty, who adheres tenaciously to her gender role. Around the office, Peggy gets promoted from secretary to copywriter. Joan is, well, Joan: smart, cool, and always in control. The characters are faceted and the writing nuanced. In addition to evincing good writing, the complexity prevents the show from being merely parody, elegy, or a sanitized-for-our-protection version of the 60s.

To cash in on Mad Men chic, some companies have created commercials specifically to dovetail with the show.

In this unfortunate Suave ad, a Don Draper wannabe discusses his visit to the ladies' beauty salon. The banter between wannabe and the copywriter quickly devolves into an innuendo-laden discussion of the attractive hairdressers he encountered at the salon:

"Sisters?"

"Twins."

And then, "I believe in throwing myself into my research. My research is quite extensive." Wink wink, nudge nudge.

In 40-seconds, they manage to work in a couple of gag-worthy appeals to stereotypical male fantasies:





Yes, I realize the commercial is intended to be tongue-in-cheek, referring to Mad Men while also parodying it. However, the characteristics making the show palatable--sexism balanced by strong female characters, and controlled, nuanced writing--are tough to establish in a 60-second ad. They are absent from this one.

This Suave commercial becomes what the show self-consciously is not: parody that blatantly objectifies women while devoid of strong (or any) female characters. I wonder if the ad men (yep, I'm going to assume) who came up with this concept have ever watched the show. Do they think so little of their audience that they surmise fast-paced banter between Brylcreemed execs will fool us into associating their product with the subtle maturity of Mad Men?

Don Draper would never have let that Suave commercial hit the air.

* Greta Christina makes a thoughtful argument about why even feminists swoon over good old Don Draper. For the record, I am not one of those women. If I had to pick one of the guys, it would probably be Harry Crane. But more likely, I'd be attracted to the construction crew working outside the building or the janitors or someone else not clad in a gray flannel suit.