The message being conveyed by Mad Men‘s season 4 key art is clear: Don Draper is starting over.
Of course, nice as the exclusive first look above is, we didn’t really need a poster to tell us that. Last season ended with the ad man experiencing a major tectonic shift in both his personal and professional lives. Not only did he bolt Sterling Cooper to form his own upstart, he agreed to give Betty a divorce.
As exec producer Matthew Weiner recently told Entertainment Weekly, the new season — beginning July 25 — will find Don & Co. contemplating, “Who am I?”
“It’s about stripping away the things these people think define them,” explained Weiner. “Once they’re taken away, they just may have to look at who they really are.”
What do you think of the poster? Did anyone else pick up on the exhibitionist subtext? More or less compelling than last season’s image of Don sitting in an office filled with water? Sound off below! (Additional reporting by Jeff Jensen)
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Pretty!
The poster is simple, but says a lot. Don Draper has his suit, his phone, and his cigarettes. He has everything he needs, and he’s looking at the future.
He forgot the alcohol.
Pretty!
i like it! but it’s not as good as a last year’s. that one was just brilliant!
Ditto…
i like it! but it’s not as good as a last year’s. that one was just brilliant!
I think it’s GREAT looking (and it conveys the idea that they’re going to be out of that hotel room when the season picks back up).
However, I think this was a perfect chance to showcase some of the rest of the cast in the poster. I realize that Don is the central character and that he’s undergone a lot of changes in his life, but my favorite thing about the Sterling/Cooper/Draper/Pryce exodus was how they all worked together, and I would’ve liked to have seen a nod to some of the other people.
Still, can’t wait for the new season.
I think it’s GREAT looking (and it conveys the idea that they’re going to be out of that hotel room when the season picks back up).
However, I think this was a perfect chance to showcase some of the rest of the cast in the poster. I realize that Don is the central character and that he’s undergone a lot of changes in his life, but my favorite thing about the Sterling/Cooper/Draper/Pryce exodus was how they all worked together, and I would’ve liked to have seen a nod to some of the other people.
Still, can’t wait for the new season.
It means… they need to find a better Photoshop artist.
I don’t see why…it’s a stylized image in a throwback, semi-drawn looking style.
Agreed. The feet are especially sloppy.
Nice!
Nice!
Did phones look like that in mid-60s? I think not. They did not
yet have buttons. Did office ceilings have recessed lighting in mid-60s? I think not. Is this poster real to the times? I think
not.
There’s no buttons on the phone!
yeah there is, but exactly the buttons there should be for an early ’60′s phone (hold, transfer call, alternate lines). my dad had one, and so did his secretary
They certainly did have buttons on office phones in the 60′s. Each button a separate line.
Yep…used to visit my dad’s office a lot…that’s exactly how the phones looked.
There’s also no light entering that room other than sunlight…the lines on the floor are from the window.
“I think not”
Barf, how pretentious, no one talks like that in real life.
It’s a rotory phone, not a touch tone, duh. And touch tones did come out in ’63. Also, it looks like a ‘brand new’ 1960′s building.
I’m thinking with the ‘Beatles’ landing in ’64 and other things, the Med Men will be like ‘wtf is going on?’
My father worked in a 1964 era high rise with recessed lighting and floor to ceiling windows, much like those pictured here. I also concur that the phones, while rotary had designated line buttons. I like the feeling and look of the ad.
Fyi, I say “I think not” often, esp in writing. How pretentious to call someone else pretentious.
A bunch of philosophers were sitting around heaven, having a few beers, playing poker. Socrates saw Descartes sitting in the corner, by himself. “Hey, Rene,” he called, “come join us.” Descartes looked down his nose at them and sniffed, “I think not.” Then he disappeared.
Funny.
Ah, philosopher humor. Very nice.
my favorite joke!! no one ever gets it…sigh
It’s because Descartes said “I think, therefore I am,” right? I’d never heard that before.
Heard it.
Actually, there is no recessed lighting shown, just the corner of the acoustic panel ceiling. The ceilings are a wee bit ahead of their times. The ceiling panels of the time were very basic with no edges protruding below the grids (called a tegular ceiling) which give a nice subtle dimensionality, like the poster shows. I notice that the ceilings on the show are prettier and less busy then 60′s offices actually were, which is a fine tradeoff – the show isn’t called Mad Ceilings.
If Jon Hamm was the star, I would totally tune in every week for ‘Mad Ceilings’.
Nitpicky much?
absolutely that’s how the phones looked. And you could get one in any color you wanted, as long as it was black. These kids today…
The “buttons” you’re referring to are “line lights.” When the phone rings, a corresponding “button” lights up to let you know which line the switchboard is sending the call through. And yes, they had these in the 1960s. The continuity department for this show is pretty on-the-ball, so I wouldn’t worry so much about it.
Not that it matters to nitpicky, weirdo nimrods like you, JFMS, but Bell Labs started selling push-button phones in the 60s. *eyeroll*
Which is beside the point anyway, considering the fact that, as is clear in the picture, it’s a ROTARY PHONE.
jfms–why, I bet even posters weren’t even invented til after the 60′s!
I had a poster of Ricky Nelson in 1961 (I’m sorry to say). That just gave my age away!
The phone is accurate for the mid 60s. (Trust me, I’m old)
Ditto! I used that model phone when I worked for Grumman in 1965.
Marti, we might be old-er, but so much wiser!
I’m old, too. That phone is accurate with buttons for the different lines.
Did phones look like that in mid-60s? I think not. They did not
yet have buttons. Did office ceilings have recessed lighting in mid-60s? I think not. Is this poster real to the times? I think
not.
There’s no buttons on the phone!
They certainly did have buttons on office phones in the 60′s. Each button a separate line.
There’s also no light entering that room other than sunlight…the lines on the floor are from the window.
“I think not”
Barf, how pretentious, no one talks like that in real life.
It’s a rotory phone, not a touch tone, duh. And touch tones did come out in ’63. Also, it looks like a ‘brand new’ 1960′s building.
I’m thinking with the ‘Beatles’ landing in ’64 and other things, the Med Men will be like ‘wtf is going on?’
Fyi, I say “I think not” often, esp in writing. How pretentious to call someone else pretentious.
A bunch of philosophers were sitting around heaven, having a few beers, playing poker. Socrates saw Descartes sitting in the corner, by himself. “Hey, Rene,” he called, “come join us.” Descartes looked down his nose at them and sniffed, “I think not.” Then he disappeared.
The phone is accurate for the mid 60s. (Trust me, I’m old)
Ditto! I used that model phone when I worked for Grumman in 1965.
Marti, we might be old-er, but so much wiser!
I’m old, too. That phone is accurate with buttons for the different lines.
I like this one better than last year’s. This one is haunting and classic.
I like this one better than last year’s. This one is haunting and classic.
Love it
Love it