Mad Men Unbuttoned
A Romp Through 1960s America
Mad Men Unbuttoned, footnotes to the show and the era, including these fascinating tidbits:
Don Draper's character is based on the real-life Draper Daniels, protégé of Leo Burnett who started off as a copywriter and rose to creative director, eventually heading the team that launched the Marlboro Man.
The iconic "Think Small" Volkswagen ad positioned the Beetle as an ugly but well-made car-a revolt against excess. Not only did unit sales top 500,000 cars a year, but the campaign succeeded in junking all the rules of car advertising.
When barred from visiting Disneyland on a trip to the United States, Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev threw a tantrum and left Los Angeles in a huff the very next day.
The Group by Mary McCarthy, the novel Betty Draper is seen reading in the bathtub, transformed the way women viewed love, sex, and marriage.
In 1947 Christian Dior showcased its revolutionary New Look line. Betty, Peggy, and the rest of the steno pool at Sterling-Cooper can be seen sporting the sloping shoulders, hourglass silhouettes, and billowing skirts of the New Look style.
Natasha Vargas-Cooper is a reporter in Los Angeles. She spends most of her time writing for The Awl, but her work has also appeared in E! Online, Gawker, Black Book Magazine, Interview Magazine, Radar and Book Browse. She also spent several years working as a union organiser and health policy analyst for a labour union in Los Angeles and Washington DC.
Mad Men Unbuttoned
Harper Collins
Author: Natasha Vargas-Cooper
ISBN: 9780061991004
Price: $27.99