I met a woman a few weeks ago and we spoke about Mad Men. She said that she’d just been thinking about the show the day before, contemplating how she would like to see was someone on Mad Men watching the Jack LaLanne Show.
Now, that has so much in it.
Yes, whenever I meet anyone these days I ask them if they watch Mad Men. Yes, she said she’d been thinking about the show and helping to craft her. Yes, despite the fact she’s only caught a few episodes, she’s one of us.
Anyway, it was a brilliant suggestion, one worth mentioning. So I throw it to you… what else? This is for fun, so I’m casting a wide net. It could be something we could have seen anytime between 1960-62. It could be something you’d like to see in future seasons. It could be a New York thing, but it doesn’t have to; these people can travel, as we’ve seen.
38 Responses to “Mad Men cultural suggestions”
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Sports never comes up … in Ladies Room, I think, someone references Mickey Mantle. But that's it.
In 1960 the Yankees lost the World Series in seven games to the Pirates (Bill Mazeroski won it for Pittsburgh with a 9th inning home run), and they won in 1961 and 1962, with two classic teams … the football Giants were also really good back then.
Floyd Patterson, who grew up in Brooklyn, was heavyweight champion until September 1962 (he lost to Sonny Liston, who would later lose – in 1964 – to Cassius Clay).
You get the feeling Mr. Weiner wasn't into sports as a kid …
I was just thinking the other day about how sports never comes up, and I had the same thought about Mr. W.
I myself don't miss it, so it took two seasons for me to notice, but I'm right there with you.
Speaking of sports…The 1962 NFL Championship (pre-Super Bowl years) was held in Yankee Stadium. It was a rematch of the 1961 game between the NY Giants and the Green Bay Packers. The Packers won 16-7. Stars for the NY Giants included Y.A. Tittle, Frank Gifford and Pat Summerall.
The Andy Griffith Show is one I remember seeing from that time, too, even though, I was a teeny, tiny, EXTREMELY young child!
I'd like to see them talk about The Flintstones, Hanna-Barbera, Rocky & Bullwinkle, and animation in general more.
One time they had the logo for Utz Chips animated and it was so obvious it was done in flash. They should het John Kricfalusi to do a 1960s style animation commercial for Sterling Cooper.
Wasn't Floyd Patterson the boxer featured obliquely in Six Months Leave?
I, of course, long for James Bond.
I'm surprised there isn't more mention of TV, especially since it's Don's business. The Tonight Show, The Today Show, game shows, variety programs, Perry Mason…
Patterson was recognized in the illegal casino … good call, Deb.
I don't know why anyone hasn't brought this up yet, since it's an advertising "classic".
The Burma Shave road signs.
Burma-Shave was not a cultural touchstone of the 1960's. I believe they would have been considered 1930's nostalgia. If you are looking for contemporary local New York television programming or advertisements from that period, I would consider kids shows like "Wonderama" with Sonny Fox, "Let's Have Fun" with Chuck McCann, or "The Sandy Becker Show". Television advertisements like "I want my Maypo", or "Doublemint". Saturday morning shows, including "Sky King" and "Roy Rogers", in addition to cartoons like "Crusader Rabbit". Or other programs for a more general audience. Game shows like "To Tell the Truth", "I've Got a Secret", "What's My Line". The early Johnny Carson-hosted "Who Do You Trust", or Jack Bailey's "Queen for a Day". The local programming on non-network stations like WNEW, WOR or WPIX, such as "Memory Lane" with Joe Franklin, or "Million Dollar Movie", or "Chiller Theatre". Yankees on WPIX, Mets on WOR. Gabe Pressman on WNEW.
These are all great ideas. I want to see the reaction of men and women of Sterling Cooper to The Beatles on "The Ed Sullivan Show," but that would be a later season, possibly season 3 (the timing works out.)
I was born in 1965 so I can't contribute season 3 MM ideas (maybe season 6 or 7?
, but as for advertising, I vividly remember cutting a 45 cardboard record (Jackson 5's "ABC") from the back of a cereal box and playing it on my record player . . . I think it was from the back of a box of Apple Jack's cereal. And it worked, I really listened to the back of a cereal box . . . thirty seven years later, it still sounds cutting edge! Oh, the power of advertising. . .
Oh, I forgot . . . it was 1971 when I listened to Apple Jack's . . .
Heheh, Crusader Rabbit, I love it.
Some Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Greenjeans would be great.
In case anyone's magzine stand carries it, our favorite Mad Men redhead is on, and in, Southern Beauty magazine. I didn't have time to read it, but she looks great on the cover and in the pix inside. You can't see anything but the cover on the website. :-p
http://www.southernbeautymag.com/
P.S. Here's a site where one can find some cultural items listed by year. It has a few interesting videos too.
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1962.html
One of the Mercury launches/flights would seem essential.
I would love to see Sally and Bobby Draper take a visit to the 1964 World's Fair, held in Queens. They could see the Unisphere and Futurama … or Peggy could go with her sister to see the Vatican's display of the Pieta!
Please pardon my artistic scientific geekness:
Richard Feynman's lectures and book 'Feynman Lectures on Physics'.
He taught at Caltech [located in Pasadena, California]. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is also in Pasadena and he was friends with many of the people responsible for the United States space programme. What is also very interesting is that Feynman was a very honorable person and that social responsibility was passed on to other scientists that he taught or worked with.
The book has three volumes, which were compiled from material presented in a two-year introductory physics course given in the early 1960's by Feynman at Caltech. Six readily accessible chapters were later compiled into a book entitled Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics Explained by Its Most Brilliant Teacher, and six more in Six Not So Easy Pieces: Einstein's Relativity, Symmetry and Space-Time.
It was through this book that I learned about Relativity and gained my love of science and mathematics. It also lead me to learn and visit Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study where Einstein held a tenured position.
Feynman made Einstein's theory of relativity accessible and that enabled the whole science-fiction genre to expand it's audience [hello, Star Trek].
P.S.
Feynman was like a geek rock star!
The man was sexy, and he definitely 'vibed' with the hip 'with it' college crowd.
Queen for a Day. which Betty must watch at home, unless she thinks it's too trite.
The Mickey Mouse Club — now in reruns, because the original club ran in the late 50s. Or, a reference to "The Wonderful World of Disney" which ran on Sunday night.
Ed Sullivan!
More references to Broadway. We've had some, namely "A Funny Thing" but for anybody in a creative field, Broadway was a hunting ground for new talent, like the fine young singers Julie Andrews and Robert Goulet. And speaking of the 1962 Broadway seaon…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yyd_kB9-vlc
@ # 18 John Rothschild
Another Pasadena connection. Me, Alison Brie, Deborah Lacey (Carla), the Draper home (which is also right around the corner from Cal Tech), various Ossining locales, mentioned in "The Jet Set" — we all have Pasadena in common. Pasadena could be a clue on the Mad Men edition of Jeopardy.
A whole lot of us Boomer kids not only grew up watching the 60s kids shows, but went on them with our Girl Scout troops (or Boy Scouts, or church groups, etc.) where we'd watch cartoons and eat cookies and have a whole 20 seconds to say what we wanted to be when we grew up and hi to our mothers and fathers. And, at least in 1963, when my Girl Scout troop was on our local show, every little girl wanted to be – a mommy. Or a teacher. Or a nurse. When little Sally (moi!) went on and said she wanted to be a librarian, Captain Bill was taken aback…it wasn't in the big 3 of aspirations. I'd love to see little Sally Draper go on one and say that she'd like to run an ad agency (or be a bartender!)
Definitely the World's Fair — that was a big deal in NYC especially for the ad business.
Also, I think the Judy Collins recording of "Turn! Turn! Turn!" would fit nicely at the end of a 1964-era episode.
The World's Fair is a great one … I would think it will play something of a role in S3 … the future, the world that Draper, et al. are building for their children, technology and a culture of progress.
According to Wikipedia: "the Fair's theme was 'Peace Through Understanding,' dedicated to 'Man's Achievement on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe.'"
Have they ever shown Bobby and Sally watching "Captain Kangaroo?" He was definitely a staple among kids back then. In 1962 I was 6 & 7 and was a huge fan of his morning show. That would be a nice addition of pop culture to add to the show involving the kids.
The relative lack of sports references is a bit odd for the boys' club of S-C.
Aaron Staton noted in the S1 commentaries that he found a documentary about Mickey Mantle really helpful to capturing the mood of men on top of the world in NYC circa 1960.
**The relative lack of sports references is a bit odd for the boys’ club of S-C.**
I don't know, I can't really see Don being much of a sports fan. Sports fandom seems to be a communal activity, and it would require Don to first off care about a team, and then have enough of a connection to people with whom to discuss the games. We haven't even seen him play catch with Bobby and Sally like a typical suburban dad. I can't really see him taking the kids and sitting in his jacket and fedora in Yankee stadium for some reason, like I think he would be bored or something.
I myself have a very existentialist view towards professional sports and treat it as entertainment, no more or no less meaningful than a movie or a concert or what have you.
And I think Roger and Pete would view following professional sports as more of a middle/working-class hobby. They'd be all about the golf/ tennis/ boating/ riding- the traditional old-money sports.
I could see Ken and Harry and maybe Paul discussing sports. Paul making some great literary allegory about the "Negro" athletes of course.
As far as TV references, I'd guess that the world wasn't really as TV-centric back then, especially it being Manhattan where they could go out every night. Paul mentioned being a fan of "The Twilight Zone", but most of the stuff mentioned upthread was kids or variety/ game shows. I guess the characters didn't have much quality drama like Mad Men to watch.
This is way in the future, but it would be nice to see them touch on the Montreal '67 Expo.
With the new business merger as a bridge, I look forward to seeing lots of images of swinging London in season 3, that is if we make the expected jump to 1964 or 1965. Reference model Jean Shrimpton, photographer David Bailey, comedians Peter Sellars, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, political satires That Was the Week That Was, Beyond the Fringe, movies like The Knack and How to Get It, Darling, Alfie, The Servant, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, A Hard Day's Night, of course all the music. Can't wait to see who sports the first Beatle haircut!
No one is actually going to grow thier hair, because S-C is so conservative, but I could see Paul comming in with a Beatle wig on as a joke.
RG, that is such a great idea!
Oh wow… I would love to see a Halloween party episode.
Patti – you're forgetting Austin Powers …
B Coops…
Oh behave!
These guys are horndogs now, I don't even want to think about the effects of the miniskirt. If Pete winds up divorced, I see him investing in mirrored floor tiles.
bow-chicka …
There are so many cultural references that spring mind, but I will name a couple. I have never had any interest in sports, but back in the early sixties, even people who didn't follow sports were enthralled (as was I) with the baseball player Sandy Koufax. Audrey Hepburn was one of the biggest film stars of the period and a major fashion icon. Ballet partners Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn were as popular as rock stars.
I remember seeing the Burma Shave signs for the first time in 1960, but in Tennessee when we were there for the summer.
Apparently, long eradicated on the Eastern Seaboard, since I never saw any in rural New Jersey, New York, or Pennsylvania.
The rural South had a lot of what we East Coast kids considered anachronisms (or worse) — the viscereal shock of "colored" and "white" bathrooms and water fountains, for instance.
Madmen accurately delineates the softer racism of the North, tho.