The Real Mad Men of Advertising

In the 1950s, advertising didn't simply celebrate America's post-war boom, it helped create it, tantalizing America with visions of futuristic homes and cars, and turning the "might be nice" into the "must have." See how advertisers created the new consumer market along with new cultural traditions, such as the engagement ring, through mass market advertising and the most powerful selling machine of all: television. It's an era that set the table for the series "Mad Men," but the real Madison Avenue stories are even more dramatic.

After a decade of the hard sell, ad men and women needed to reinvent how they spoke to audiences in the 1960s. They tapped into the growing counter-cultural movement, using irreverence and wit, and as a result, changed advertising forever. Track advertising's evolution, from innovative car campaigns that kicked off the decade to the co-opting of youth, freedom, and anti-establishment as the '60s drew to a close.

In the beginning of the 1970s, advertisers' love affair with non-conformity continues to pay off, but change is in the air. Economic crisis, disillusionment, and federal and consumer watchdogs are forcing ad agencies to find new ways to reach customers. See how a decade of mistrust and government crackdowns inspires creative campaigns that will become a part of our national identity. From hilltop singers to heroic oil workers, '70s ad men and women found a way into the hearts of skeptical consumers.

It's the Reagan Era, and political confidence fuels an era of heavy consumption. Madison Avenue promotes new categories of designer products in provocative ways and the explosion of cable television allows brands to target two demographics that have been ignored for decades: teens and Hispanic Americans. This decade of blockbuster Super Bowl ads, culture-busting mascots, and infomercial celebrities, was an age of advertising that is both far removed from the days of "Mad Men" and inextricably linked.