London Fog ad, early 1960s
Leo Burnett stressed that the creator of an ad needed to somehow capture and reflect what he called the “inherent drama” of the product.
London Fog, an outerwear company that still exists somewhere on the fashion wrung below Burberry and above Patagonia, is trying to stay relevant by expanding their products. Don persuades them to keep the focus on the raincoat in their ads (the raincoat, of course, being the quintessential fashion accessory for subterfuge). And in that indelible Draper style, he describes an ad rife with sexual tension (though not overtly).
Here’s a similar, real life ad from the early 1960’s, that reflects Don’s/Burnett’s philosophy of an imposing image with dramatic undertones. Don’s tagline: “limit your exposure” fits with the ad’s couple who are graced with melancholy and intimacy.
Natasha Vargas-Cooper, curator of Mad Men Footnotes (a must-follow companion blog to “Mad Men”) has an interesting piece at Interview on the London Fog campaign in the hands of Leo Burnett, whose agency was the model for Sterling Cooper.
via madmentfootnotes
