It probably goes without saying that I'm a fan of Mad Men, and although not as many people watch it as I would like (The ratings are a fraction of what the show about the zombies brings in) it's not exactly obscure. So this isn't a spotlight on the show. It's a spotlight on the pop culture surrounding the show you might have missed by not being a hardcore geek about it like I am.
We'll start with the wackiest one. The Mad Men make your own story based video game in the vein of Maniac Mansion or Legend Of Zelda, as if it had been made in the 80's.
Dodge that lawnmower, Don!
Comedic cartoonist Dyna Moe achieved a (very small) level of fame when Mad Men Yourself became a thing people did on facebook and myspace. Using her deceptively simple clip art pieces and parts, one can create their own kitschy caricature of themselves and their friends to use as avatars.
Dyna Moe got the gig because she had been regularly making little postcard style illustrations of key scenes from that week's episodes, and they found their way to the cast and crew. From there came the avatar creation site, and from that came Mad Men: The Illustrated World. Filled with recipies involving the 60's trendy processed foods and very potent party drinks along with the tounge in cheek cartoons, it's a very fun and whimsical companion piece to a show that is not exactly fun or whimsical, but somehow it works.
Another book more closely tied to the nature of the show is Sterling's Gold. Fans of the program will recognize this as a familiar prop- the cover and title of Roger's autobiography, small press published (somewhat against his will) by his young wife, Jane. The interior pages are made up of quotes by Mr.Sterling from over the course of the show. A few favorites read as follows:
-Where'd you get that sweater? I want to make sure my daughter never buys it.
-Remember, when God closes a door, he opens a dress.
-It looks like you're all going to engage in a little mid-level camaraderie, so I'll be on my way.
-I told him to be himself. That was pretty mean, I guess.
And to think, I thought Megan was going to be boring.
AMC must have known in advance this would be one of those water cooler moments, because they were very quickly ready to capitalize. You can get Megan's (actress Jessica Pare's, that is) performance of Zou Bisou Bisou (as popularized by Gillian Hills and Sophia Loren) as a digital download or, if you're really cool, a 45.
I just did- one red, one black.
