The Pitch on AMC is Mad Men for the 21st Century

Mad Men has some of the finest writing, acting and visual elements of any show on television. It looks at the world of New York advertising in the 1960s. The AMC network has capitalized on the success of that show by releasing a reality show called The Pitch. Advertising is a cut-throat industry where only the strong (and most creative) survive. The Pitch looks at how two competing ad agencies go head-to-head to try and win the account of a client. The show is from the creators of Undercover Boss, and these programs have some similarities. The one that is most noticeable is the product placement. In this age of dwindling TV ratings and people skipping commercials through the use of the DVR, this is becoming more common. The show is promotion for the product as well as the competing agencies. I like the show since it reveals the behind-the-scenes brainstorming sessions and the formulation of ad campaigns. Some episodes I have watched had agencies making their pitch to executives from Subway, Pop Chips, Waste Management and Marriott's Autograph Collection hotels.
Find out more about the show here: http://www.amctv.com/shows/the-pitch

Mad about Mad Men

One of the best shows on TV just won a Golden Globe award, to add to its many other accolades it has earned over its 3 seasons. Mad Men is a show on AMC which is about people who work in the New York City advertising industry in the 1960s. This is a drama, but it has some comedic moments, and it has been a breakthrough show for the previously unknown cast. I have not seen a show with writing this good since The Sopranos. Once you start watching, you want to see more. Seasons one and two are available from Netflix. Jon Hamm stars as Don Draper, the suave ad executive with a mysterious past. His wife is played by January Jones, who is a Grace Kelly dead ringer that fights against a boring home life and a husband who is unfaithful. The Sterling Cooper ad agency is headed up by womanizer Roger Sterling (John Slattery) and the eccentric Bertram Cooper (Robert Morse). Two of the most interesting ad agency employees are Peggy, played by Elisabeth Moss, and Joan, played by Christina Hendricks. Peggy yearns to be more than a secretary at work, and to be seen as someone who can contribute. Joan is seen as the sex symbol of the Sterling Cooper agency. The set design and costumes are pulled off flawlessly to give the show a 1960s appearance. Down to the smallest detail, you feel like you are going back in time when you watch the show. The co-stars of this show seem to be activities like smoking, drinking, and men living a hedonistic lifestyle. Watching this show makes one realize how much things have changed since the 1960s, such as the roles of women in the workplace. Also, people are smoking (a lot) in the office, which today would be forbidden.