Why do we all love Mad Men? We can't be nostalgic about the chain smoking, casual chauvinism and racism that were big fixtures of the early 60s so could the secret of the success of this cult TV series be the sheer unbridled optimism of that decade in which the American Dream was writ large? For the first time in history a glamorous lifestyle was not confined to the rich: mass production meant mass consumption. Along with the cult of the consumer, new technologies and materials were finding their way into the home and design took centre stage. It is this aesthetic that Mad Men captures so absolutely. The following clip from The American Look (1958) shows how advertising made domestic appliances cool.
The authentic visual style of Mad Men is not confined to the hairstyles, clothes and furniture used on set but extends to the cinematography which has abandoned the intense, hand-held shooting style of contemporary dramas for the elegant, considered classicism of the dolly shot.This clip from a General Motors ad from 1960 shows how high production values saturated commercials made at the time.
Fundamentally, Mad Men is not only gorgeous, well-made and authentic but is cool in a grown-up sexy way that is personified by characters like Christina Hendricks and Roger Sterling.
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