It’s very sporting of the usually straight-laced Ad Age to put together a video on sex in the office (and in neighbouring hotels) as featured on Mad Men, with some interesting comments from survivors of the era including perky copywriter Jane Maas.
Y&R was the ‘hotbed of sex’ she says although there seem to be some other contenders too.
The implication seems to be that that was then and it doesn’t happen now. Not entirely sure about that…
Update
Enjoyed George Parker’s take on the last series of Mad Men: ‘Math Men,’ no drinking, shagging, smoking..lots of data.
Who was he thinking of?
Jane was right, most people didn’t drink IN the office, but got arseholed at lunch. Slept it off on the couch. Your secretary brought coffee in the afternoon so you could get to Grand Central early enough to have a few pops in the bar, get the train, have a couple more in the bar car, then be picked up by your wife and driven home for pre-dinner cocktails. Mind you, we got a lot done in the morning. Except one guy I worked for at B&B, who kept a luggage locker filled with booze at Grand Central. This gave him the necessary pep after he got off his morning train to make it to the office and get started… As for the shagging… It’s all in “Confessions of a Mad Man.” Ah, the good old days. Don Draper is a wimp by comparison. Cheers/George “AdScam” Parker.
Ah those were the days at JWT London where I started life as one of those young secretaries bringing in the afternoon coffee after running to the Mount Street Offy for a bottle of port or brandy to get them (well us really) through the afternoon. Media space and time bought and negotiated over a few scoops. Loved the snooty days when our account directors had an army background and/or one of those degree things, as for the media department you didn’t really need one to work in the most fabulous, talented zoo in town..