The Forefathers of "Mad Men"

[Benzadmiral]

This, from Flashbak, is an article from 1950 that appeared in Holiday: http://flashbak.com/the-forefathers...rticle-on-advertising-in-new-york-city-52163/ Lots of cool hats and suits!

 

[Fading Fast]

Since it's of the time, we can't accuse it of pushing modern stereotypes of the era, but other than a lack of prominence of drinking - at or out of the office - this hits all the usual suspects: Clothes from Brooks Brothers and Tripler, sporting goods from Abercrombie and Fitch, expense account meals at the Ritz or private club, and the insular - all white and male - world of advertising.

Very much, "Lizzie's Boys from Marketing." Nice find, thank you for posting.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Since it's of the time, we can't accuse it of pushing modern stereotypes of the era, but other than a lack of prominence of drinking - at or out of the office - this hits all the usual suspects: Clothes from Brooks Brothers and Tripler, sporting goods from Abercrombie and Fitch, expense account meals at the Ritz or private club, and the insular - all white and male - world of advertising.

Very much, "Lizzie's Boys from Marketing." Nice find, thank you for posting.

I was just born about 30 years too late! Of course, if I'd been born in 1923, I'd have been in WWII and would probably have stepped on a land mine or been blown up with my destroyer before I ever had a chance to come up with the latest slogan for cigarettes or cars.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I recommend Frederick Wakeman's novel "The Hucksters," published in 1946, for an interesting contemporary look at what the Boys were like, and how they were viewed, at the start of the postwar era. Herman Wouk's "Aurora Dawn," published the same year, is equally good. Both books focus on the intersection of the advertising business and broadcasting -- and both emphasized the basic amorality of the business and its impact on the psyches of the people who worked in it. Liquor and cigarettes feature only passingly in the narratives, and you'll have to use your imagination for the tailoring -- but there is plenty of sex, especially in the Wakeman book.

 

[Fading Fast]

^^^ Read "Aurora Dawn" many years ago and my impression (these many years later) is that Herman Wouk was no fan of his job in advertising. While I haven't read everything he has written, I've read several of his novels and he can write a solid page turner. Also, his book "A Hole in Texas" has one of the clearest lay-person explanation of the Higgs Bosom I've ever read. I didn't read the Wakemen book, but I have seen the movie, which, while I guess was tamer than the book, wasn't overly kind to the advertising industry.