I'm not much of a series-television fan, but a little over a year ago some friends told me about a show revolving around the ad business in the early 60s called
Mad Men, and I was instantly hooked. As everyone now knows, this program is a dark and often funny look at the era that shaped American consumerism, when Madison Avenue was coming into its full-flower. Tonight, the third season premieres, and I suspect alot of us will be sitting in front of our televisions, popcorn in hand, waiting to see what happens next. Every advertiser's dream of a captive audience.
I recently did this portrait of Jon Hamm, who plays the main character Don Draper, for
GQ France (apparently they love the series over there, too). I wanted to capture the flat, bold feel of 60s ads, and to incorporate some of the things I enjoy most about this show: the (jarring to our generation) level of smoking, chauvinism, littering, heavy drinking, etc.—they even have the kids making cocktails for Mom and Dad and their friends! It's like a dark version of
Bewitched. Anyway, this evening I'll be hanging on every new twist and turn—and of course, watching the commercials in between.
