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Creativity Online

Rate the Ad: AMC: Mad Men Yourself

AMC's make-your-own Mad Men avatar revives site reminds us of movie marketing campaigns of yore.

Published: Jul 29, 2009
Last time on Rate the Ad, we took a look at a web video for Samsung that featured elephants bungee jumping out a UFO in Picadilly Circus. From the Viral Factory--the same shop created the past Samsung viral that asked YouTube viewers to figure out how a phone disappeared--this video pretends to have staged the whole, extremely improbable and somewhat plasticine event to exhibit just how fast the handset manufacturer's new Jet is--it alone can capture the event. We wanted to know what you thought of the fake stunt concept, as well as the elephants and how this effort compares to its sensation How'd He Do It? predecessor. Well, per usual, Adsters were split. Some loved the idea, others, not so much.

Representing those who'd rather have seen a real stunt, "tmacreative2" says, "This is the worst. It undermines everyone who is clever enough to do an actual hidden camera idea. If you are going to do something fake that you want to be taken as real, at least make it convincing. Not a fan of the fake. Real is so much better."

On the other hand, some people saw this video as a parody of ad stunts. Commenter "efil4zaggin" says, "It's brilliant. It's a big "f**k you" to Improv Everywhere stunt advertising and it makes its point about camera speed without shoving it down your throat. I can see it now: 'Hmm, MC Hammer dance... London Tube stupidity... frozen in Grand Central... nah to hell with it, lets have elephants bungee jumping out of a UFO... let's go BIG." This is tongue-in-cheek humor at its finest." This week, we turn to a little "-ize me" avatar creator for the much anticipated premier of AMC's Mad Men season three on August 16. On Mad Men Yourself, you can custom create your own cartoon 1960s ad man or mistress from body type to clothing to beverage of choice. Sponsored by Eight O'Clock coffee, the site lets you export your Mad creation as a social media profile picture. This is the first online effort for the premier, which will also include "Which Mad Man Are You?" quiz game and Mad Men e-cards, both launching August 10. Well, what do you think? Is the show-themed avatar creator so 2006? Was this concept more interesting the first time as Simpsonize Me for the Simpsons Movie? Or are avatars a great way to spread the already existing Mad hysteria even further? You can admit it. Have you already changed your profile picture? Share your thoughts below.
4 Comments: By schutzsmith July 29th, 2009 06:44:12 pm

The illustrations are nice. Is the concept game changing? No, of course not. Will it increase hype and exposure around the season premiere? Yeah, probably. Would all of us reading Creativity suggest they should have done something different? Of course! But alas, only the users on Twitter and Facebook will be the true judges of its successfulness.

By carlenlea July 30th, 2009 09:23:20 am

It's a great campaign. People are using. People are sharing the avatars. People are talking about it. You can already see the success. http://rtcrm.com/blog/we-heart-mad-men

By chicagoad July 30th, 2009 02:36:14 pm

Who cares? Anyone remember Simpsonize Yourself???

By PDA Media July 30th, 2009 03:50:03 pm

Full disclosure: I am a fan of the Mad Men series.

That aside I believe this concept really is a great brand extension with strong ties to the production values of the show (I believe the artist was "discovered", by one of the cast members and asked to do his offical christmas card). Mad Men's producer/ creator/ writer Weiner and crew have created a place that viewers want to go to, a virtual time machine. The campaign has all of the stamps of a strong UCD/UGC succes story. Personally, I can't wait to see numbers for this campaign, and less Simpsonized avatars on the web.

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