Maybe Sterling Cooper Should Do An Ad Campaign For 'Mad Men'

This past weekend Mad Men lead Jon Hamm did a stint hosting Saturday Night Live, and his intro poked funat the conundrum of the AMC show: It’s critically revered, the first basic-cable series to win an Emmy as best drama, yet relatively few people have seen it.

In his SNL intro, Hamm alluded to Mad Men’s relative obscurity. The dark, handsome actor also said that when he tells people the show is on AMC, they ask him if he doesn’t mean A&E.

Unlike programs that have become populist-culture phenomenon, like South Park and The Sopranos, I can’t talk to my sister and other assorted family members about Mad Men. While I love it, they don’t watch it.

Mad Men, which looks at 1960’s moirés via life at a New York ad agency, hasn’t been garnering a big audience, despite the critical hype. The second-season finale was last night, and maybe that will bring in some bigger numbers.

SNL did a skit (which I didn’t think was very funny) that parodied Mad Men’s many past scenes involving meetings between ad agency Sterling Cooper and clients. The send-up made fun at the show’s closeted gay art director; the line delivery of its weasel account executive; and Hamm’s enigmatic heel of a character, Don Draper.

If you haven’t watched Mad Men faithfully, you wouldn’t get the skit, and I couldn’t help but wonder how many of SNL’s viewers understood the nuances of the parody. In addition to Hamm, Mad Men cast member Elisabeth Moss (no relation) was also in the skit, but her appearance didn’t seem to illicit any recognition from SNL’s studio audience. I felt bad for her.

But when another Mad Men cast member, John Slattery, walked into the scene, he drew some applause, at least.

AMC has already renewed Mad Men for a third season. But the show’s producer, Lionsgate, is still trying to negotiate a deal with the show’s creator/writer, Matt Weiner. According to Variety, Weiner has been making the rounds at other studios, looking to perhaps get a deal for a new show while remaining showrunner for Mad Men.  

Weiner may be trying to find a venue, and new opportunities, that will attract the viewership that’s alluded Mad Men. At the Television Critics Tour this summer, Weiner deemed Mad Men a huge success despite its relatively small audience. Maybe now he’d like to see some big audiences, for something.