Life.Art.Inspiration.

I hate soggy cereal. I always make sure I have the spoon before I poor the milk, and eat it quickly so I don’t have that mushy sludge at the bottom of my bowl that forces me to scrape hard earned money into the garbage can. This morning, however, thanks to this ad, I didn’t win the “eat it while it’s crunchy race”. I owe this loss to the fact that I can’t help but be fascinated by this ad.

I first have to admit, I have never seen the show Mad Men, and the thing that drew me to this poster, has nothing to do with the ‘amazing artwork’ display. Instead, it was the article calling it “Controversial” that caught my attention. Season 5 premiers March 25th, and the poster doesn’t let you forget it, for some, it also has an eerie resemblance to another date they will never forget, Sept. 11 of 2001.

I can tell you that my initial inspection didn’t lead me to 9/11, but I can definitely see why that conclusion has been drawn, especially when a large portion of it’s marketing has been in New York City where everyone got to live the nightmare first hand. If you don’t understand the resemblance, just Google: 9/11 Falling Man.

Never having watched the show, I did my research. Mad Men is show, based in the 1960’s about a fictional advertising agency, Sterling Cooper. Funny considering the advertising for the show is making headlines. The scene of the falling man comes from the shows opening credits, a staple since the series premier in 2007, an image that the shows producers knew it’s fan base would recognize. Never the less, I find it hard to believe that the shows marketing would solely target existing fans of the show, without trying to draw in new viewers.  The creatives behind this poster had to know the significance the image would have on those of us that haven’t ever seen (or in my case, have never heard of) the show. 

SO, is this insensitive advertising, or advertising genius? Everyone will have their own opinion on that, some stronger than others, but I have this strange image in my head, of some creative, sitting in his or her office right now, with a really big grin. See, offensive or not, it has done it’s job; exciting the current fans, and generating a buzz for those like me, who will have to check out the show and see what all the fuss is about.