Case Study: Mad Men

Supporting the debut of numerous seasons of Mad Men on Sundance TV across Asia and Europe.

Objective

Sundance TV acquired the rights to premiere numerous seasons of the Golden Globe® and Emmy® Award-winning series Mad Men across Asia and Europe. Set in 1960s New York, the provocative drama examines the ruthlessly competitive advertising industry. Acclaimed for its realistic depiction of an American past, the series has been praised by critics as one of the top television shows of all time.

Tactics

In several of Sundance TV’s markets, the series was premiering in high definition for the first time. This angle helped to emphasise the show’s high production values and unparalleled set design, which are best showcased in the HD environment. The series went back into production on a new season while the European and Asian PR strategies were being formulated. This provided many opportunities to capitalise on the renewed interest in the series and access to the cast and crew. Telephone and in-person interviews were arranged for top tier international press with creator Matthew Weiner (The Sopranos) and stars Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss. Close partnership with Sundance TV’s sister network AMC and production company Lionsgate facilitated further global PR opportunities in conjunction with the US premieres of subsequent seasons.

Results

Mad Men’s enormous critical acclaim was further extended across international markets and highlighted Sundance TV’s commitment to delivering bold original programming. The cover of Esquire magazine was secured with Jon Hamm in Spain. Key stories were featured in Korea’s Joongang Sunday, Spain’s wire service EFE and national newspapers El Mundo and Qué, Holland’s NRC Handelsblad, France’s Le Monde and Poland’s Film magazine. Metro newspapers featured an interview with Jon Hamm in local editions across Asia and Europe, along with a viral online interview excerpt posted on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.