SPOILER ALERT: Do not read until after you have seen the lastest episode of "Mad Men."
Amid the sex, booze, put-downs, family betrayals, brothel embrassments and corporate climbing in the latest epiosde of "Mad Men," the critically acclaimed AMC drama took a turn toward Detroit.
The Madison Avenue ad men of the 1960s and their rivals go to great lengths to get a Chevy account. Its portrayal as a career-defining prize reflects the world-dominating power of General Motors Corp. in 1968.
The characters Roger and Don are seen in what is supposed to be the lobby of the former GM headquarters on W. Grand Boulevard. Upholding the show's vaunted attention to detail, the set closely resembles the long-gone cathedral-like space in which GM cars were displayed like venerated icons. (The building now is the Cadillac Center, housing state government offices.)
Another ad agency going after the account was said to be Campbell Ewald, the longtime Detroit ad house that was then located inside GM headquarters.
Perhaps more interesting is"Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner's choice of music for the GM scenes: An obscure song by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels titled "Baby Jane (Mo-Mo Jane)," the B side of the group's 1965 Top 10 hit, "Jenny Take A Ride."
Rolling Stone magazine calls the music a "popping soundtrack."
The Chevy account is for project XP-887, better known today as the Vega, which was heralded as a technological marvel for GM when it made its debut in 1970.
While the characters in the TV drama don't know it, of course, the Vega -- named for the bright star -- would become one of Detroit's great PR disasters as problems quickly developed with safety, reliability and engine life, among other challenges.
