The 100 Years Club Installment #140: HOT STUFF #13 Mad Men & One Woman of the 1970s

Scrolling through my hundreds of channels, I happened upon Mad Men.

I hadn’t seen it in years, so I watched a couple of episodes.

That prompted me to reflect on the advertising/marketing world, my own career path, and what we have lost along the way.

This post is a slight departure from my summer theme of “Hot Things,” but the end of summer always gets me thinking about all the college grads looking for jobs and their flawed belief that the one decision will dictate the entire path of their careers.

As I know from my own roller coaster ride, that is simply not true.

But back to the topic at hand…

Roughly 48 years ago, I stepped into the Grey Advertising offices in New York as a newly minted college grad and Honors English/Psych major. My navy leather portfolio was under my arm, and I was probably wearing a dreadful business suit with big shoulder pads and nude pantyhose.

I wanted to be a copywriter and had arranged an interview with an executive connected to me by my parents’ friends.

It was brutal!

It was the Peggy Olson era, and I was told I would need to do a two-year stint as a secretary before I could even be considered for anything more challenging. The senior guy was dismissive and blatantly sexist, telling me that good-looking women did well in the industry. (Although it was true, it was icky.)

I took a pass on the ad agency job and ended up going to a job with faster promotion potential (which, ultimately, paid off).

What’s changed since then in the ad world? What’s better? What’s worse?

• First (and most obvious), the whole definition of marketing has changed. Breakthrough brand campaigns are scarce, and companies focus more on stunts and short-term social media moments to become memorable. I’m sure the days of Don Draper-like creatives presenting huge ideas still exist in some places, but I fear that the days of truly brilliant concepts (“Priceless,” “Just Do It,” etc.) are over. We’ll have to deal with annoying Flo, the Aflac duck, influencer marketing campaigns on TikTok, and celebrity cameos instead. BTW, the celebrity spokesperson is hardly a new concept. See below.
• We don’t have to recruit and moderate focus groups. Gathering consumers to sit around conference tables with one-way mirrors rarely happens. But I did get an actual human phone call this week from Constant Contact. A UX (user experience) expert actually wanted to know my opinion on some new functionality the company is developing! But if you’re not down for speaking to flesh-and-blood people, AI tells us what people are looking for online, and marketers can even use technology to understand your in-store behavior. Kinda creepy. (Is someone watching me sample the grapes? Will I be arrested?) Of course, if someone hates your product today, you’ll know it. Social media is taking care of that!
• Obnoxious behavior appears to be timeless. We usually don’t see bourbon-swilling and smoking within office walls (and, frankly, walls rarely exist in offices), but…
  • Office hook-ups are a constant.
  • At executive retreats, psychedelics and yoga are the updated version of booze and clubbing.
  • Most agencies still do not promote inclusivity (except for the casting of diverse families in some commercials). Fewer than 6% of ad agency employees are said to be over 50, although this group represents at least $6 trillion in disposable income.
  • People still seem to take credit for others’ great ideas. Assholes live on for all generations.
  • But quitting is an easy option these days, and the rule that you have to stay in a job you hate for at least a year is an ancient concept. The number of employee lawsuits is growing.

My colleagues who only know the digital marketing world are often amused (and sometimes blown away) by some of my tales of the wild and weird days of business in the 1980s.

I’m glad I got to see the evolution and often wonder what the Don Draper of the future will be. I suspect he won’t even be a human at all!

More factoids about the advertising/marketing world:

	“The Big Six” have gobbled up the independent agencies. Why branding is still important (especially in tech).
	Beyond the handshake…some stats about office romance
	10 huge marketing blunders
	The evolution of celebrity endorsements