One of the guilty pleasures of watching AMC’s Mad Men, the drama that depicts life at an ad agency in the 1960s, is its historical authenticity. People smoking at home or work, three-martini lunches or drinking at the office, and how the sexual mores of the time are depicted. It wasn’t the ’60s, but the […]
One of the guilty pleasures of watching AMC’s Mad Men, the drama that depicts life at an ad agency in the 1960s, is its historical authenticity. People smoking at home or work, three-martini lunches or drinking at the office, and how the sexual mores of the time are depicted.
It wasn’t the ’60s, but the ’80s when I started working at a TV station.
At the time, studio cameramen used to smoke during the news. I could tell who was probably running a camera by seeing a puff of smoke swirl out in front of the shot. Directors used to smoke, sometimes balancing ashtrays precariously on the control board. One false move and a lit cigarette might tumble out.
One day, the mayor and the general manager walked through the studio on the way out of the station. The mayor got a cigarette butt stuck on the bottom of his shoe. The general manger was so embarrassed, he banned smoking, except for one small room that became quickly known at the Toxic Waste Dump. Even hard-core smokers thought twice about smoking in there.
So what would it be like if we transported a ’60s Mad Man into today’s politically correct office environment?
WARNING: Some scenes may not be appropriate for viewing in the office.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8aVz6xVHK4&feature=youtu.be
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