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Get Down With Don-O-Mite, The "Blaxploitation" Mad Men Homage
By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 10, 2014
Modified Apr 10, 2014
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By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 10, 2014
Modified Apr 10, 2014
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Manhattan ad firm Leroy & Clarkson, which "strategically repositions iconic brands for the new media landscape" ugh, has just released this Blaxploitation-style riff on Mad Men, dubbed Don-O-Mite. Produced to capitalize on the buzz preceding Sunday's season premiere, the four minute video is a piquant translation of the Mad Men world into classic '70s Blaxpoitation tropes. Yes, it's ultimately an ad for an ad company about ad men, but it's pretty well done, starting with the funky cover of Mad Men's theme song:
"Kraft Mutha Fuckin' Mayonnaise: Keepin' It All Together." More, please.
Of course, it's all very reminiscent of Robert Downey Sr.'s delirious 1969 satire Putney Swope, in which a black man named Putney Swope is inadvertently elected chairman of a Madison Avenue ad agency. He then "summarily fires the whiteys, replaces them with Black Power apostles, renames the company Truth and Soul, Inc., and proceeds to wreak politically incorrect havoc." If you enjoyed Don-O-Mite, you need to see Putney Swope:
"HOW MANY SYLLABLES, MARIO?"
Tagged
don-o-mite
mad men
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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