The Real Mad Men of Advertising: Season 1, Episode 1

1 - 1: The 1950s

In the 1950s, advertising didn't simply celebrate America's post-war boom, it helped create it, tantalizing America with visions of futuristic homes and cars, and turning the "might be nice" into the "must have." See how advertisers created the new consumer market along with new cultural traditions, such as the engagement ring, through mass market advertising and the most powerful selling machine of all: television. It's an era that set the table for the series "Mad Men," but the real Madison Avenue stories are even more dramatic.