In season two of “Mad Men,” the ad men of Sterling Cooper come up with a brilliant campaign for Playtex bras: all women emulate either Jackie Kennedy or Marilyn Monroe, so the ads claim the bra fits both.
I say screw Jackie and Marilyn. These days, if you are a woman, you are a Peggy Olson, a Joan Holloway or a Betty Draper.
I’m pretty much a Peggy. Maybe my hair is not as bad (those bangs in the first two seasons were dreadful), and I’d probably realize if I were pregnant, but the similarity comes from my work ethic and attraction to guys who tend to be assholes. Oh, Pete Campbell, how I love you!
But it’s not enough to think we’re a Peggy, a Joan or a Betty. We as a country need to take our “Mad Men” obsession further. We need to adopt the clothing, the look and the stylistic essence of “Mad Men.” I am willing to wear whalebone undergarments if I can look like Betty Draper in a dress. On the male side, I have a theory that if all men wore double-breasted suits and skinny ties, the world would be a better place.