Mad Women: The Other Side of Life on Madison Avenue in the '60s and Beyond [Tapa dura]

When I was a little girl watching Bewitched, I decided that one day I was going to own my own advertising agency. I could write copy and storyboard concepts that Darrin couldn't begin to imagine. Oh yes, I would be a generally awesome business person (with a fabulous London Fog trench coat with matching umbrella, but I digress). Then I grew up. Life got in the way, not to mention being told many times that I sure did have big dreams for such a little girl... I happened to be in my twenties at the time.

So, I was happy to read a memoir written by a woman who managed to succeed where I stumbled. Not only that, she did it a decade earlier than my attempts. I looked forward to hearing about the process, the battles, the hits and misses. Well, I got a few. The author went at this project focused on comparing her experiences to the TV show Madmen. Unfortunately for me I haven't been watching Madmen. Fortunately for me it seems that the writers follow the basic trope of standardized TV characterization so I could follow along fairly easily.

But I was expecting more. Yes, there was sex and drinking and even (gasp!) cigarette smoking. And those of us of a certain age aren't going to be shocked by the chauvinism here. I doubt any of us came through that era unscathed but frankly, Ms. Maas got through less scathed than the `average girl'. That's probably not a popular opinion, but I call `em as I see `em. And she does freely admit that she would not have survived without her housekeeper/nanny/all around extra family member who was with the family for many years. Not to mention her husband who supported her in all the best connotations of the word.

The last portion of this slim collection does deal with the myth that women can have it all. You can as long as you have plenty of help, understanding employers, and don't mind a heaping helping of daily guilt.

Maybe in another fifty years women will find a way to have it all. But for now, if you feel as if you're the only one drowning, you should read this and breathe a sigh of relief. Just make it a short sigh; dinner's not going to make itself.
Yet.

Over the years I've read a number of books about advertising, including those by Jane Trahey and Jane Maas. Today's it's hard to believe the world Maas evokes, where account executives were mistaken for secretaries and women humbly accepted lower pay for the same (or superior) work.

If you're old enough to remember, the book will evoke painful memories. I remember talking to women who calmly acknowledged they were paid less for their work but at least they got a foot in the door. "Do women hold those jobs?" was a common question all through the 1970s and even early 1980s.

Maas brings back those times with wit and convincing detail. I'm not sure how younger women will resonate with the book. I had trouble putting it down.

For a visual equivalent, buy or rent the movie, The Best of Everything, by Rona Jaffe, and stay for the writer's comments. Not only did these women put up with inequality, they did so while wearing uncomfortable suits with "hose and heels." Some wore girdles. Panyhouse appeared in the very late 1960s and weren't popular till the 1970s.

A good book for your favorite Mad Men fan or anyone who likes to study advertising.

Forget "Mad Men," Jane's book is The Real Deal. She names names. She tells it like we all knew it really was. Shame on us for our neanderthal attitude towards women - and brava to brave women like Jane who were willing to play by rules that worked for her - while accepting (but still challenging) the realities of The Boys Club.

It was people like Jane who inspired me to go into advertising - and people like her who taught me to be a mensch. Maybe not as quickly as I should have, but the end result is that I honestly believe I'm a better person for it. Advertising as a business is generally on the cutting edge of market trends...and as women rose to their rightful place at the table (side-by-side and sometimes above) their male peers, it was our industry that was one of the few to break the glass ceiling.

If you've never been inside advertising, this is a must-read. The true story of what it was like in the era of Mad Men. If you were (or are) in advertising, you'll love the honesty, integrity and heartfelt walk down memory lane.