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Mad Men

Mad Men Recap "The Crash"
TV

Mad Men's 5 Maddest Moments: "The Crash"

This week finds Mad Men on speed — literally.
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This week finds Mad Men on speed — literally. Almost everyone (save for Peggy and Ginsberg) at the agency drops their pants for an injection of some kind of "complex vitamin boost" and stays up all weekend trying to think of a campaign for Chevy — emphasis on "trying." We get some major flashbacks to Don's childhood at the brothel, and Sally and Bobby play host to an unusual guest. All of this is preempted by the death of Frank Gleason as Ted leaves the agency to attend the funeral.

"The Crash" is definitely the trippiest episode of the season, and not just because of the drugs everyone takes. Between the flashbacks and the woman who comes to the apartment (more on that later), I was constantly questioning what was real and who might be hallucinating. Let's get to the nitty-gritty with the five maddest moments of this week after the jump.

Mad Men Recap "A Man With a Plan"
TV

Mad Men's 5 Maddest Moments: "Man With a Plan"

The physical merging of the merger happens on this week's Mad Men, and people aren't just butting heads because there's not enough room at the SCDP office.
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The physical merging of the merger happens on this week's Mad Men, and people aren't just butting heads because there's not enough room at the SCDP office. While some people are having a tough time transitioning into the new situation, some employees have it worse and get the boot. Meanwhile, Don pushes his extramarital relationship too far, Pete's mother pops up, and Joan and Bob Benson both help each other.

The show ends with one of the most shocking moments of the late '60s: Bobby Kennedy's shooting. Since it happens in the closing moments, it doesn't permeate the episode like Martin Luther King Jr.'s death did a few episodes ago, but it's a bold punctuation to the end of the episode. But before we talk about the end, let's get to the five maddest moments of this week after the jump.

Mad Men 1968
nostalgia

A Mad Men World: What Went Down in 1968

This week's episode of Mad Men ends with Pete Campbell's dementia-suffering mother waking him up to tell him that "they shot that poor Kennedy boy."
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This week's episode of Mad Men ends with Pete Campbell's dementia-suffering mother waking him up to tell him that "they shot that poor Kennedy boy." Pete rolls back over, thinking his mother is having a flashback to JFK's 1963 assassination. But in fact it is June 5, 1968, and Bobby Kennedy has just been shot at LA's Ambassador Hotel, as we see when Megan Draper sits glued to the graphic TV footage.

RFK's assassination is just one historic event referenced this season — and even this week — on Mad Men. Earlier in this week's episode, we hear the Draper neighbors Dr. Arnold and Sylvia Rosen argue about their son, who is in Paris in the midst of violent student riots. And already, this season has dealt with the Vietnam War and the death of Martin Luther King Jr.

The season-six premiere of Mad Men found Don Draper ringing in 1968 in bed with his neighbor's wife, Roger Sterling mourning the death of his mother, and Betty Draper showing off a darker side. And we suspected that the inevitable upheaval in the characters' personal lives would also be set against a very tumultuous year. And so far, it is. Take a look at the major political and pop culture moments of 1968 that will help you spot the references this season.

Vietnam Ramps Up Peggy Fleming Wins Gold Paris Students Riot LBJ Bows Out MLK Assassinated Iconic Movies Released RFK Killed
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Mad Men Guest Stars From Season 6
TV

Mad Men: Why You Recognize These Recent Guest Stars

This season of Mad Men has brought more than an obsession with death, copious facial hair, and a merger — it's also been featuring a ton of recognizable guest stars.
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This season of Mad Men has brought more than an obsession with death, copious facial hair, and a merger — it's also been featuring a ton of recognizable guest stars. We were shocked but delighted to see Linda Cardellini (Freaks and Geeks forever!) in the season opener, and now it seems like each episode has another face we know. But just in case you're still trying to place some of Mad Men's recent guest stars, we've got the answers right here.

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Vintage Car Ads
Sex

How Real Mad Men Used Women to Sell Cars

Move over, Jaguar — Don Draper is trading in the British luxury car for the all-American Chevy.
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Move over, Jaguar — Don Draper is trading in the British luxury car for the all-American Chevy. On this week's episode of Mad Men, Don and Roger hit the road — or the friendly skies — for Detroit to pitch Chevy for the car of the future. Don wins the account, after teaming up with rival Teddy Chaough. The two decide to merge their ad agencies so they can compete with the big boys. And it's a good thing Don doesn't come back to NY empty-handed, since earlier in the episode he fired the agency's previous car client, Jaguar.

Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce (or whatever it will be called now) managed to win the Chevy account with less sketchy tactics than it used to win Jaguar. As we saw last season, throughout the process of vying for Jaguar, it's clear that the show's ad men have little respect for women. The creative team uses a mistress as its muse for the slogan — "Jaguar. At last. Something beautiful you can truly own" — comparing a woman to a car. Only the car is better than a woman because you can own it. And of course, the SCDP partners pull a more shocking move, conspiring to prostitute out their colleague Joan Harris to a higher-up at Jaguar to secure the account. Joan's sexual objectification provides a literal reference to how women were used to sell cars. The real 1960s Jaguar slogan, "A cat of a different breed," alluded to women, and subsequent taglines included, "Domesticated. Not Declawed." Or, "Nobody's Pussycat." The British carmaker wasn't alone. Copy on a '60s-era Ford ad, featuring a seductive-looking young woman in the passenger's seat, reads, "So luxurious inside, watch 'em overguess the price." Are they talking about the car or the woman?

Based on the glimpse of the Chevy pitch we see this week — a teaser campaign that draws on innocent anticipation of the unknown — Don might be taking a more wholesome approach. But looking at real Chevy ads from the era, women are still deployed as attention-grabbing accessories. Check out some 1960s car ads featuring women. I'd love to say we've come a long way, but just flip on the TV and you'll see that car ads featuring sexualized women aren't getting kicked to the curb any time soon.

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Mad Men Recap "For Immediate Release"
TV

Mad Men's 5 Maddest Moments: "For Immediate Release"

Well, color me surprised!
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Well, color me surprised! This week's episode of Mad Men ends on a rather exciting note — Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce is merging with Peggy's firm! There are a lot of ups and downs for SCDP's business this week — first, they're set to go public and make everyone rich, then it feels like they're losing accounts like it's going out of style. But after a stroke of inspiration, Don and Ted Chaough realize they may be better off as partners than competitors.

Before Peggy taps out that press release, though, there are more than a few mad moments, including a couple of steamy scenes and arguments. Get the five maddest moments of the week when you read more.

Mad Men Date Ideas
Dating

5 Mad Men-Inspired Date Night Ideas

We're happy to present this excerpt from one of our favorite sites, YourTango.
by YourTango

We're happy to present this excerpt from one of our favorite sites, YourTango. Live on the wild side for a night with these Don Draper-esque date ideas.

OK, so we all know the web loves Mad Men actor Jon Hamm's penis a little too much. It's farcically large, and I, for one, am sick of hearing about it. But apparently people are still watching the actual show, too! Season six opened to 3.4 million viewers last month, and many fans have strong opinions about the long-running series, a few of them disappointed with aspects of the new season. During a Mad Men panel event at the Paley Center For Media in Manhattan on Tuesday night, show creator Matthew Weiner even told fans to just "sit back and enjoy where we're going."

Some of the gripes Weiner said fans have are "there's not enough agency advertising. There's too much advertising. There's not enough Betty. There's too much Betty. Who is Megan? Why isn't there more Megan?" Basically, people need to simmer down and just watch the show.

You can't please everyone, but one thing we can agree on is that we're collectively fascinated with the vices of that era: drinking in the office, smoking like a chimney, and illicit affairs. And the clothes are just so tailored and stylish — I personally liked the early '60s styles more, but we can all agree that Joan Holloway is still rocking it.

It's fun to live vicariously through these characters, so people do things like dress up and go to Mad Men-viewing parties — I've been invited to more than one. And maybe even go on Mad Men-inspired dates. So if you're a fan of the show, here are a few Don Draper-esque date night ideas. Go have a ball.

Dress Up With Nowhere to Go
Have you noticed how often we see the characters lounging about at home, smoking endless cigarettes and drinking endless martinis? When was the last time you dressed up just to sit around the house? Leave sweatpants territory behind and put on a bright 1960s-inspired dress, then invite your guy over for cocktails. Tell him no t-shirts or sneakers allowed!

Venture to a Dimly Lit Hotel Bar
Don Draper just adores hanging out in out-of-the-way cocktail dens. Why not take your guy on a sexy adventure to one, whether it's a trendy hotel bar or an underground speakeasy? He'll have a scotch on the rocks, and you'll have the finest artisanal cocktail their mixologist makes.

For three more ideas, head to YourTango: Five Mad Men-Inspired Date Night Ideas.

Check out these other great stories from YourTango:

  • Four Ways Technology Is Ruining Your Relationship
  • Why It's Smart to Date Like a Player
  • Nine Signs That He Is Not Into You at All
    • Mad Men Cast Interview on Katie
    TV

    Watch Jon Hamm and His Mad Men Costars Talk Onscreen Cheating and Fat Betty

    A few select cast members from Mad Men — Jon Hamm, Christina Hendricks, January Jones, and Jessica Paré — visited talk show Katie this week to talk about this season of their hit show, and Katie Couric couldn't resist putting Hamm in the hot seat over why Don "can't keep it in his pants."
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    A few select cast members from Mad Men — Jon Hamm, Christina Hendricks, January Jones, and Jessica Paré — visited talk show Katie this week to talk about this season of their hit show, and Katie Couric couldn't resist putting Hamm in the hot seat over why Don "can't keep it in his pants." Watch to see Hamm's funny response, along with Jones and Hamm addressing the work it takes to make Jones's character, Betty, look heavier than usual.

    MLK Assassination Pictures
    TV

    Mad Men Flashback: The Reaction to MLK's Assassination

    April 4, 1968, was a tragic day in America, as civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis.
    by

    April 4, 1968, was a tragic day in America, as civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis. TN. On this week's episode of Mad Men, we witness the historical event from the perspective of the mostly white upper-class employees of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. On the show, Pete Campbell is surprisingly genuinely distraught by the death and Joan awkwardly tries to comfort Don's black secretary, Dawn. Although Dawn is clearly rattled, she says she'd rather be in the office than at home when her co-workers encourage her to take the day off. As for Don, he worries mostly about his mistress who was in DC for the weekend. In the episode we also experience the unrest in NYC through Don's eyes as he nervously drives his kids through the streets with sirens blaring.

    While many of the Mad Men characters express sometimes tone-deaf sadness and worry over race riots, in real-life 1968, civil rights leaders were attempting to maintain MLK's message of nonviolence in the aftermath. April 7 was declared a day of national mourning by President Johnson, and on April 8, King's wife attended the March on Memphis, which King had planned on attending. On April 9, hundreds of thousands came out for the funeral in Atlanta, GA, where Dr. King "eulogized" himself, as his "Drum Major" sermon, which he had given on Feb. 4, 1968, was played. In it, he directly addressed his own death and funeral. Take a look at photos from the days following MLK's assassination now.

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    Mad Men Recap The Flood
    TV

    Mad Men's 5 Maddest Moments: "The Flood"

    This week's episode of Mad Men is marked by the death of an icon, as we see how each of the characters respond to the death of Martin Luther King Jr. Everyone's a little more emotionally volatile than usual (especially Pete), and even little Bobby Draper is deeply affected by the event and its aftermath.
    by

    This week's episode of Mad Men is marked by the death of an icon, as we see how each of the characters respond to the death of Martin Luther King Jr. Everyone's a little more emotionally volatile than usual (especially Pete), and even little Bobby Draper is deeply affected by the event and its aftermath.

    The unraveling of Don continues as usual, and this week, he makes a pretty big confession to Megan about parenthood and his own father. Let's break down the biggest moments of the episode when you read more