Who (or what) are today’s Mad Men?

In celebration of “Mad Men” Season 5, we decided to explore who — or better yet what — are today’s Mad Men. Feel free to roast our ideas in the comments and propose your own. Or take an opportunity to highlight your own ad heroes and innovations. We’ll be keeping an eye out.

5 Seconds

00:00

The Mad Men (and women)

Imagine walking into Don Draper’s office and asking him for advice on search engine optimization (SEO) terms. He’d probably lean back, light a cigarette and tell you to come back when you’re ready to start talking sense. It got us thinking about who (or what) are the Mad Men of today. There are, of course, men and women in ad firms around the world creating provocative and alluring ads — the traditional inheritors of the Mad Men mantle. But we decided to take a slightly more unconventional look, and arrived at five people/things that we think have emerged as the new kings (and queens) of advertising. But, before we get started, here, for your viewing pleasure, is the "Mad Men" cast — from left, Christina Hendricks, John Slattery, Jared Harris, Vincent Kartheiser, Jon Hamm, Robert Morse and Elisabeth Moss. Season 5 premieres on March 25 (9 p.m. for the East Coast folks). But, if you’re here, you probably knew that already.

Frank Ockenfels / AP

You

Yes, we know, ”you” has been done before. Bravo, Time magazine 2006, bravo. But if you’ve ever uploaded a video to YouTube in the hopes it would go viral, you are, indeed, a mad man. An unknown person makes a video advocating on behalf of something they love, believe in, want or need and suddenly, almost inexplicably it’s the most popular video on YouTube. It’s every advertiser’s dream. From “Obama Girl” to “Kony 2012,” the average person has exponentially more power today to influence the general populace than they did in the days of Draper.

Jonathan Ferrey / Getty Images

The social network

Facebook probably couldn’t ask for better advertising than a feature-length blockbuster (a screenshot of which is pictured here) — not that it needs it. But, let’s set that aside for a second to look at the broader concept of the social network. When it comes to advertising, nothing beats a friend’s recommendation. It’s a sweet spot for advertisers that emerges, oddly, when they’re not around. You’re sitting on the phone with your best friend and he or she just happens to mention a product they recently fell in love with. Social media has taken this dynamic and exponentially expanded it, giving all of your friends an opportunity to inundate you with pretty pictures of their favorite products. Pinterest, anyone?

Merrick Morton / AP

The algorithm

A good ad is a good ad. It doesn’t matter how you slice it. The advent of the search algorithm, however, has introduced new terms and rules into the advertising playbook. This includes terms such as “traffic,” “page views” and “SEO”. For example, the acronym “CPM “means cost-per-thousand impressions. “Impressions” used to mean eyeballs at the theater, in front of TVs, newspapers and magazines or ears listening to the radio. Today, it also means clicks. And good luck getting those impressions online if your link’s at the bottom of the algorithm-controlled search engine results queue.

John Adkisson / Reuters

The Google Doodle team

Original mad man David Ogilvy is quoted as saying, “A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself.” Allow us to introduce Exhibit A: the Google Doodle. When Google pushes a new doodle, take a look at the Google trends, which show the top search terms entered into the engine at a given moment. The Google Doodle, when the company reveals one, is almost always at or near the top of the list. And guess what that means? So is Google. When a new doodle lands, it produces instant, favorable coverage for the search engine company. It’s a smart move by the company, a move certainly worthy of a Mad Man.

Google

Aggregation

Much like a DJ remixes a song, journalists and bloggers remix popular stories, adding in new reporting and analysis. This means that, for those eager to get their message or product out there, aggregation can be a wonderful thing. The growing velocity of a story as it repeats with slight variations across the Web (assuming it’s good news), is music to any product executive’s ears. And, to top it all off, it’s free.

Michael S. Williamson / The Washington Post

Back to gallery

Discussion Policy | FAQ | About Discussions

Comments

Add your comment

Read what others are saying About Badges

SuperFan Badge

SuperFan badge holders consistently post smart, timely comments about Washington area sports and teams.

More about badges | Request a badge

Culture Connoisseur Badge

Culture Connoisseurs consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on the arts, lifestyle and entertainment.

More about badges | Request a badge

Fact Checker Badge

Fact Checkers contribute questions, information and facts to The Fact Checker.

More about badges | Request a badge

Washingtologist Badge

Washingtologists consistently post thought-provoking, timely comments on events, communities, and trends in the Washington area.

More about badges | Request a badge

Post Writer Badge

This commenter is a Washington Post editor, reporter or producer.

Post Forum Badge

Post Forum members consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on politics, national and international affairs.

More about badges | Request a badge

Weather Watcher Badge

Weather Watchers consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on climates and forecasts.

More about badges | Request a badge

World Watcher Badge

World Watchers consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on international affairs.

More about badges | Request a badge

Post Contributor Badge

This commenter is a Washington Post contributor. Post contributors aren’t staff, but may write articles or columns. In some cases, contributors are sources or experts quoted in a story.

More about badges | Request a badge

Post Recommended

Washington Post reporters or editors recommend this comment or reader post.

You must be logged in to report a comment.

Comments our editors find particularly useful or relevant are displayed in Top Comments, as are comments by users with these badges: . Replies to those posts appear here, as well as posts by staff writers.

All comments are posted in the All Comments tab.

More about badges

Get a badge

To pause and restart automatic updates, click "Live" or "Paused". If paused, you'll be notified of the number of additional comments that have come in.