NEWSWEEK Goes Retro With MAD MEN Issue

Ad Age reports today that a special issue of NEWSWEEK magazine will be styled like it was back in the 1960s to coincide with the premiere of MAD MEN on AMC this coming Sunday.  The idea for this supercool cross promotion came from Newsweek's newish editor Tina Brown, of course.

This special issue will be about the role of advertising in U.S. culture and will even feature some retro-styled ads as well.  However, one type of old school ad you won't see--no cigarettes, as those are no longer advertised in the magazine per Brown's edict. One other oddity this article in Ad Age mentions is that, during the MAD MEN era, women were not even allowed to be bylined writers for the magazine. They only worked in the background, doing copyediting and research, and it wasn't until a class-action lawsuit in the 70s that they were able to write articles.

As much as MAD MEN generates nostalgia for the style of the 60s, we can certainly be glad that some of the discriminatory details of the decade are long gone.

The End Of The '00s

We're barely half-way through November and already the inevitable wrap-ups of the first decade of the 21st century are starting to appear. Yes, it's the end of the '00s and the list making has begun: the best, worst, first, last, memorable, forgettable fill-in-the-blanks of the last ten years.

Newsweek.com has an extensive 20/10 project on their website if you're ready to take a trip down recent-memory lane. Most of it was pretty boilerplate (i.e., 9/11 most memorable date) but there were a couple sections I found interesting.

The first was Worst Predictions, like Greydon Carter declaring the end of irony after 9/11...remember that? Or the media's assertion that Barack Obama didn't have a chance against the Clinton machine? There's also a list of Accidental Celebrities, including Playgirl cover boy Levi Johnston. This is good stuff! Definitely worth checking out as the onslaught of '00s nostalgia begins. Brace yourself.