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theatlantic: The Problem of Marketing Mad Men In advertising terms, Mad Men is a great product, but a hard sell, and a niche product at best. Despite Don Draper’s dismissal of the idea that “sex sells,” AMC’s marketing has routinely put the show’s sex appeal front and center (the earliest promos for the series spend as much time on an unnamed burlesque dancer as they do on Peggy Olsen). It’s a tried-and-true formula that the network revisits every season; earlier this year, Mad Men-promoting taxicabs were emblazoned with the phrase “Adultery is back,” which boils the series’ five seasons of complex, interconnected professional and personal relationships into a cuckold’s version of musical chairs. […] Mad Men’s sometimes-uncomfortable relationship with its own advertising and merchandise is a real-life version of the tension between business and creative seen on the series. Mad Men is a complicated show, but advertising, by its very nature, simplifies (which is why AMC’s commercials for the show involve a disproportionate amount of sex and punching). How do you market a show about marketing? The lesson offered by Mad Men’s advertising and merchandise is a simple one: When in doubt, go with authenticity. AMC has always done best by Mad Men by emulating the advice given by Don Draper in the series’ most famous pitch: “Nostalgia… it’s delicate, but potent.” Read more. [Image: AMC]

theatlantic:

The Problem of Marketing Mad Men

In advertising terms, Mad Men is a great product, but a hard sell, and a niche product at best. Despite Don Draper’s dismissal of the idea that “sex sells,” AMC’s marketing has routinely put the show’s sex appeal front and center (the earliest promos for the series spend as much time on an unnamed burlesque dancer as they do on Peggy Olsen). It’s a tried-and-true formula that the network revisits every season; earlier this year, Mad Men-promoting taxicabs were emblazoned with the phrase “Adultery is back,” which boils the series’ five seasons of complex, interconnected professional and personal relationships into a cuckold’s version of musical chairs. […]

Mad Men’s sometimes-uncomfortable relationship with its own advertising and merchandise is a real-life version of the tension between business and creative seen on the series. Mad Men is a complicated show, but advertising, by its very nature, simplifies (which is why AMC’s commercials for the show involve a disproportionate amount of sex and punching). How do you market a show about marketing? The lesson offered by Mad Men’s advertising and merchandise is a simple one: When in doubt, go with authenticity. AMC has always done best by Mad Men by emulating the advice given by Don Draper in the series’ most famous pitch: “Nostalgia… it’s delicate, but potent.”

Read more. [Image: AMC]

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