All the Mad Men

The title of this post also happens to be the title of a track on one of David Bowie's great, but lesser known albums -- The Man Who Sold the World. Released in 1970, the title track may be familiar to more people because Nirvana covered it on their MTV Unplugged record and show, not long before Kurt Cobain's alleged suicide.

The reason why I bring this up in a marketing blog (besides trying to snag unsuspecting glam and grunge rockers traversing the Internet) is that the song generated in me a feeling of nostalgia and I began to wonder whether the appeal of Mad Men the show was mainly nostalgia-driven (this is admittedly a circuitous route to get back on topic but I guess it works).

There's plenty of nostalgia to be had, from the cool retro style, the historical context familiar to most boomers and the idea of a bar in your office and drinking that begins no later than noon. But I don't think that tells the whole story.

I think we're drawn to the mythical days of Madison Avenue because they remind us of a time when we connected emotionally to brands since buying is often an emotional decision, or at least has a significant emotional component. In these days of dispassionate algorithms or ever more smarmy and sophomoric Super Bowl ads, we long for marketing that generates a feeling, a feeling that can stay with you for years or come back whenever you read that brand name or hear that jingle.

So when you're trying to connect with an audience or build your brand, remember to speak to the values, experience and aspirations of your audience to generate a feeling. Look for a post on the four most important questions you need to ask yourself when building a brand identity and brand voice that people can connect with.