"Mad Men" Is Branding Gold

The latest episode of Mad Men, as usual, revolved around the relationships of advertising executives on the 1960s. But it also involved the agency pitching a brand, Jantzen. The swimwear brand is, of course, real, and still around. In fact, it's turning 100. Coincidence? Hard to say. But without a doubt, product placement is the unspoken meta-genius of the show.

Mad Men is about the 1960s' U.S. advertising business, but each episode is itself also an advertisement. That makes it the perfect setting for product placement.

Each episode focuses on a single client's brand and features outright exposition from the characters about that brand's character. Brands, naturally, have recognized the value of this placement, as does AMC, the network behind Mad Men. In fact, AMC head Charlie Collier is a former ad man himself.

Heineken has paid to be a target of Mad Men's ad men. As has Chase. The show has featured other brands such as American Airlines, Stolichnaya, London Fog, Hilton, Gillette, and Clearasil. The Smirnoff vodka brand leapt at the opportunity to provide a vintage bottle for the show last year.

Among the featured but unpaid placements: Cadillac, Utz, Kodak (focus of season one's classic "carousel" scene), John Deere and Cross pens (a barter deal).

While the straight sell can help move a brand's products, product placement within Mad Men can give a brand gravitas by demonstrating its legacy. A well-conceived storyline that seemingly teaches consumers about a brand's history is brand-building gold. A spot on Mad Men communicates a brand's iconography and because Don Draper cares about these brands, so does the viewer.

Earlier seasons featured some brands with very little modern relevance, such as Lucky Strike cigarettes. But viewers should expect to see more brands with generational crossover appeal.

As for which brand placements are paid and which aren't? That's as much a mystery has Draper himself. As Collier commented last year, "You shouldn't know which ones are paid and which ones aren't."

Here's a nod to Draper's art of the pitch: