Mad Men - Product Placement

Product Placement

Mad Men has integrated product placement into its narratives. For instance, in a second season episode, the beer manufacturer Heineken is seen as a client seeking to bring its beer to the attention of American consumers. This placement was paid for by Heineken as an additional part of their advertising on the show. The closing episode of season two was broadcast (for its premiere) in the United States with only one brief commercial interruption: a short ad for Heineken beer.

On June 20, 2007, the consumer-rights activist group Commercial Alert filed a complaint with the United States Distilled Spirits Council alleging that Mad Men sponsor Jack Daniel's whiskey was violating liquor advertising standards since the show features "depictions of overt sexual activity" as well as irresponsible intoxication. Jack Daniel's was mentioned by name in the fifth episode.

During the fourth season, Unilever created a series of six retro commercials to be aired during the show in the United States. The ads are set at the fictional Smith Winter Mitchell advertising agency and take place during the same time period as Mad Men. The products used in the ads are Dove, Breyers, Hellman's, Klondike, Suave, and Vaseline.

Some sources attribute other mentions of real life products on the show, such as ads worked on by the firm, or companies sought as clients including Utz potato chips, Maidenform, Gillette, American Airlines, Clearasil and others to product placement

In an interview for the Archive of American Television on November 12, 2010, creator and showrunner Matthew Weiner stated that there is much less product placement on Mad Men than is commonly perceived, and that most real products featured (including Cadillac and Utz) are included for purposes of realism, with no product placement deals behind them. Weiner said: "There is very little, and it is an illusion propagated by the network. It never works out... Literally I've named four things in four seasons and there have probably been a hundred products on the show. Half of them are made up, no one's paying to be on the show."

Weiner added that he is not opposed to product placement, provided that it could increase the show's budget or eliminate the advertising breaks. However, he says that the limited product placement in the show has been a frustrating experience for his creative team. Because of these frustrations, Weiner anticipates no product placement deals in future seasons. "I can say here and now, never again". Weiner also expressed his regret at his inability to edit Mad Men's Wikipedia article to correct the misperception that real products on the show are the result of product placement deals.