What Would Jackie Do?

The 1960s among other things, was also a time of great admiration for the first lady, Jackie Kennedy. Her impeccable tastes in fashion were admired by women around the country. Designer Oleg Cassini decided her wardrobe for the 1961 inauguration. Jackie was quoted saying that she wanted to dress as if "Jack were president of France" and the couple lived up to this iconic fashion level. Jackie beamed with elegance, regality, and sophistication, and the American people adored her. She was known for her classic black and white combinations (black on top, white on bottom), very large sunglasses and the famous accidentally dented pill box hat which was inspiration for many designers to create pill box hats with an intentional dent. Her look was classic then and is timeless now. For a guide to What Would Jackie Do? consult the book by Shelly Branch and Sue Callaway!

Sexism in Advertising

It is no secret that the 1960's gender gap was a large, gaping hole. Men worked in offices in positions of authority. They made decisions and they made money. And while women did work in offices, such as the ones on Mad Men, most of them were accessories to the men; answerig their phone calls, taking their messages, and not given the authority to make decisions. Advertising did nothing to ill in this gap. In commercials, women were in a kitchen more than half of the time and almost always in the home. Food advertisments were directed towards women, convincing them that it is important to buy what is best for their family as that was their duty. Men in advertisements were often in sports, near cars, or relaxing in their homes. Men were the mediators and the voice of reason, often for the females in these advertisements. In commercials for things such as beauty products, men had the voice overs, convincing the women that they know what's best. Blatantly stated, advertising was completely sexist.

Examples include Barbie Dolls, who often portrayed women as a stylish, beautiful figure and only that to young girls; Ford, who rarely had women in their commercials and were always voiced over by men; and Tide laundry detergent, one particular commercial in which is woman is depicted as joyous as can be folding laundry by the seaside with a man's voice praising the detergent and the woman for using it.

1960-1969

The 1960s was a time of radical revolution. Movements were made across America promoting civil rights, women's rights, and equality for all. Music was influenced by and influenced the time. In 1960, the youngest president was elected.

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Folk music, inspired by the changing times, was at its height. In 1961, the father of folk began to strum his guitar and vocalize his lyrics throughout Greenwich Village.

A year later, Hollywood's icon overdosed. A year after that, in the summer of 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream Speech" in Washington, D.C. Three months later, JFK was shot and killed.

Beatlemania had already spread when, in 1964, The Beatles performed on the Ed Sullivan Show. Two months later, twelve of their records were at the top of the charts.

Anti-Vietnam War protests escalated as America's involvement in the war expanded. Riots spread across the country in protest of U.S. involvement.

More music began to immigrate from the UK to the US. Popularity of The Rolling Stones soared in 1967 when they performed on the Ed Sullivan Show. Music continued to play a major role in the decade throughout its movements and revolts.

Youth culture was the dominant force behind the 1960s. Hippies from the Village in New York to Berkeley and San Francisco in California continued to cry for love and peace as the war continued on. An anti-war riot broke out at Columbia University in 1968, calling for an end to the conflict in Vietnam.

The decade's final year came to a close with the marriage of John and Yoko, the Stonewall Riots in New York, the release of To Kill a Mockingbird, and, of course, the most famous, biggest music festival to date: Woodstock.

Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol is best known for creating are using the image of the Campbell's Soup can. Born in Pittsburgh in 1928, Warhol spent his career as an artist working with pop art, a more modern genre that fit in with the sort of stuff coming into the United States through the British Invasion. The image of a Campbell's Soup can was transformed from mundane to eye-catching. The idea was a sort of commentary on the mass production of the 60's. Warhol also created pop art with the image of himself and celebrities such as Mick Jagger, Marilyn Monroe, and Jackie Kennedy. A quote from American Visions by Robert Hughes sums Warhol up perfectly: "...in a culture glutted with information, when most people experience most things at second or third hand through TV and print, through images that become banal and disassociated by repeated again and again and again, there is role for affectless art. You no longer need to be hot and full of feeling. You can be supercool, like a slightly frosted mirror. Not that Warhol worked this out; he didn't have to. He felt it and embodied it. He was a conduit for a sort of collective American state of mind in which celebrity- the famous image of a person, the famous brand name- had completely replaced both sacredness and solidity."

Changes from Counterculture to Culture

Booze Ads

Car Ads

Endorsing Free Spirit

Endorsing Hip Visual Style

Slogans

For the Sophisticated Viewer

The Revolution of the 60's

The 1950's and the early 1960's had a growing sense of counterculture. The general norms were completely different from the activities of the commercial world. The two sides clashed in thought. The counterculture believed in nature, simplicity and drugs in search of an authentic experience, which was different from the prevailing culture . The counterculture was against the idea of "mass society" which was being promoted the most.

The commercial world of advertising had a working way that was completely different from the counterculture. They believed in giving the consumer what they wanted. They just worked towards satisfying the wants of consumers. The "Theory X" was what it was called where they just worked to satisfy every "whim" of their consumers. This "Theory X" encouraged them to chose a path that had values of "science, efficiency and management" to deal with this and to solve their problems. the only thing that was focussed upon was how they could sell their products rather than being "creative" in marketing them. These ads were 'shielded from real life,' making no effort to 'engage their readers on a direct basis or attempt to involve them.'" The target for these ads was just plainly persuasive and not psychologically effective, giving a reason for the consumers to buy something.

In contrast, the counterculture did not encourage this and they believed in "creativity and carnival." The scientific effect did not appeal to the counterculture to a great extent. They wanted to engage the audience with the products. They wanted to make every product seem like an individual identity, creating brands, creating brand images, etc. Their belief was that advertising had to be creative and individualistic to sell.

The new generation of advertisers in the 1960's were now coming up with authentic, artistic and sophisticated ideas. The old monotonous, repetitiveness was fading away and the advertisements were now becoming more hip. The hierarchal and "slow moving" Madison Avenue was now conveying messages of being more hip than following the standard consumerism. The idea of mass society was looked down on now. The sixties were turning to the counterculture and making it the prevailing culture. A sense of individuality was now prevailing in the advertising industry.

Bringing Back History

An article in the New York Times in 2008 said that Mad Men is having a lot of influence on the advertising today. The advertising agencies today take pride in this show since it depicts to the audience today about what the working of an agency is all about.

Many efforts are being made my a number of companies to connect themselves with the show. For instance, Zippo decided to sponsor the new DVD box-set of the show such that the box would be in the shape of a Zippo to signify the importance of smoking in that period.

Michael Kors also decided to give off the DVD sets of the show with every $350 spent on his Fall 2008 line of clothing. Marketers today are glad that this how helps them show the world their work. Also the show helps them in the working since they can actually see what the gains and loses of success are in the long run.

Issues relating to gender, race and religion are also being looked upon. The development america has gone through since that time is also highlighted through the show.

The show is having a great impact on society today and people are becoming well informed about the past through the show.

This clorox ad is a great example!