Video Pick: The End of “Mad Men” (Again)

I was reading the latest Q&A in Jay Sears’ new series of interviews conducted in July at Rubicon Project’s 2^nd Annual Real Time Trading Update from South East Asia’s Buy Side in Bintan, Indonesia … and I was struck by an answer from his subject, Yean Cheong of IPG Mediabrands’ Cadreon in SE Asia.

Asked by Sears to name her favorite commercial of all time – something Sears asks all of the people he interviews for his Programmatic & Ad Automation blog here at MediaVillage – Cheong replied that she has loved all Coca-Cola commercials through the years and is especially fond of the iconic “hill-top song.”

That commercial’s status in the history of popular culture was instantly reestablished back in May when it was unexpectedly utilized as the final sequence in the series finale of “Mad Men.” (This is as good an opportunity as any to say once again that, even though I thought the final sequence in the finale was great, it would have been genius had series creator Matthew Weiner decided to digitally insert Megan Draper into that Coke commercial, even in the distant background. It would have been subtle, but "Mad Men" was a study in subtlety. Megan was determined to work as an actress and that would have been a great way to start.)

The video below is the entire three-minute final segment of the finale, offering last looks at all of the primary "Mad Men" characters. When I watched it – waiting to see the Coke commercial – I realized all over again how much I am going to miss them. Take a look and then tell me that you won't miss them, too.

We may all be reminded of that all over again when the Emmy Awards are presented on September 20, assuming “Mad Men” is recognized in some fashion one final time. Would voting members of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences dare not honor Jon Hamm with the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series after ignoring him and every other member of this historic program throughout its run? Will they once again name the show Outstanding Drama Series – an honor they previously bestowed on it for each of its first four seasons – now that “Breaking Bad” (honored with multiple Emmys each of the last two years) is no longer with us? Or will the “Bad” prequel “Better Call Saul” and its leading man Bob Odenkirk become the new Emmy magnets?

Either way it’s nothing but wins for AMC, the home of all three shows.

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