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Unpacking Last Night's <em>Mad Men</em>: From The Electric Circus To Swinging

Jen Carlson

Published Apr 22, 2013

Modified Apr 22, 2013

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Jen Carlson

Published Apr 22, 2013

Modified Apr 22, 2013

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It's time to unpack another episode of Mad Men. This season there are less real life historical moments in the more immediate background (last year we had the smog, that thing that happened in Bed-Stuy, etc). Most history timestamps this season have been broadcast through a radio in the background, and last night Don hears the news that presidential candidate and New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy will be meeting with Mayor John Lindsay. This may have been around the time he was marching in the St. Patrick's Day Parade:

Here's what else we saw in Matthew Weiner's version of 1968 NYC last night:

SODA FOUNTAINS

Joan's sister drags her to a soda fountain filled with younger people—"I'm sorry, I need a drink and this place is a soda fountain. I feel like I'm in high school, right down to the clientele. We're sitting here waiting for the phone to ring, this actually is high school." She adds that when she wants to go out, "I don't look in a guide book." (Zing!) But her sister came to meet younger men—"My friend told me about it... we're just the right age for this place. Apparently there are quite a few men here who go for a certain type." (This was back in the blissful era when the term "cougar" didn't exist.)

THE ELECTRIC CIRCUS

via Flickr

Joan and her sister pick up a young man at the soda fountain and end up at The Electric Circus with him. While there, Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot's "Bonnie & Clyde" is playing in the background.

The Electric Circus was located at 19-25 St. Marks Place (between 2nd and 3rd), and opened in 1967 by Jerry Brandt and Stanton J. Freeman, who invited people to "play games, dress as you like, dance, sit, think, tune in and turn on." The Village Voice recapped the opening night, calling the club "the latest total environment, McLuhanist discotheque. Its owners spent $300,000 for the flashing strobes, films, music, astrodome-style turf, and circus acts—but neglected to include air conditioning. So, the whole gala event was like a mixed-media happening on the BMT rush hour."

The nightclub also offered circus performers and experimental theater, and concerts—including The Velvet Underground and The Grateful Dead. One visitor of the time recalled, "I was 16 years old when I went to the Electric Circus. I was a regular at the club. There was nothing like it, then or now. I remember the rubber room, the holes in the wall that you could crawl up in. The lights were out of this world and the jugglers, fire eaters and unicycles coming down a wire were fantastic. Seeing the Dead there really put the cherry on top."

BROADWAY JOE

The firm is trying to make Dow seem less evil, and pitch "a one hour prime time tv special, sponsored by Dow, starring Joe Namath and 15 or so of his best friends, putting on a show drawn from America's most beloved musicals." They excitedly declare: Broadway Joe on Broadway! Namath got the nickname from Sherman Plunkett, his Jets teammate.

HEINZ

Don and Peggy battle it out for Heinz Ketchup. Peggy puts Heinz on the defense with her campaign pitch—which calls out imposter "catsups" and declares: "Heinz. The Only Ketchup." This 1968 storyboard (h/t Bowery Boys) shows a Heinz campaign that compares the Ketchup with its competition. (Here's one ad that ran at the time, which we visited last week.)

MARY KAY AND AVON

Joan's sister is visiting to interview with Mary Kay (her current employer) competitor Avon. Mary Kay was founded in 1963 in Dallas, Texas. For a time, Mary Kay became known for its pink cars—the first Pink Cadillac was created in the current Mad Men year of 1968. "It was such a good rolling advertisement that Mary Kay Ash decided to reward her top five producers, by providing them with a Pink Cadillac paid for by the company in 1969."

Competitor Avon has its roots in New York City. Founded in 1886 "when founder, David H. McConnell, of New York City, discovered that the rose oil perfumes he was giving away were the reason people were buying his books." When the company began to grow, "McConnell appointed his first General Agent, Mrs. Albee. At a time before women even had the right to vote, Mrs. Albee was instrumental in establishing the unique sales method that continues to be Avon's hallmark today."

SWINGING

While Plato's Retreat didn't open unti 1977, swinging was in (er) full swing in the 1960s. In last night's episode Don and Megan get propositioned by Arlene and Mel, Megan's boss and her husband (played by Ted McGinley!), the soap opera's writer. The following year, in 1969, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice—a free love-embracing television series—would start airing. We can totally see this going down in the Draper living room:

LE CIRQUE
Joan says, "I made reservations at Le Cirque, for two." But Le Cirque didn't open until 1974. Did Weiner slip up? Was there some other Le Cirque before the Le Cirque we know today?

Tagged

mad men

mad men history

unpacking mad men

original

Jen Carlson

Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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