Campaign Includes On-line Interaction with the Stars and Creator of the Show, and User-Submitted Auditions for a Walk-on Role in an Episode of the Series
New York, NY, June 30, 2008 – Heading into the highly-anticipated second season of AMC’s critically acclaimed original drama series Mad Men, the network announced today that an extended, comprehensive digital campaign will launch on acmtv.com to create buzz around the premiere of Mad Men on Sunday July 27th at 10PM EST. Promotions continue online throughout the season, which ends on October 19th, 2008 with the season finale. The campaign, for which the creative concept is designed to align with the series’ nostalgia for the 60s, includes streaming video, live chats, online quizzes and contests, and photo essays.
As the centerpiece of the digital campaign, amctv.com will invite Mad Men fans to audition for the series by submitting their own video clip in which they perform lines from a Mad Men character of their choice. Roles may vary, and will include: Don Draper, Pete Campbell, Roger Sterling, Betty Draper, Peggy Olson, or Joan Holloway. The contestant who submits the best clip and receives the most online votes from other users will win a walk-on role in a future Mad Men episode. The online casting call will launch in early July. Additional details are available at madmen.amctv.com.
"Our online marketing strategy gives fans even more opportunity to be involved in Mad Men – its history, the characters, the stars and its creators, trivia from the 60s and on and on," said Joel Stillerman, senior vice president of original programming, production and digital content. "Fans will be kept up to date via daily online events, and new viewers will have the chance to catch up on the series and all of its detail."
Created by the Emmy Award-winning executive producer and writer of "The Sopranos" Matthew Weiner, Mad Men is a provocative new primetime drama, set in 1960s New York City, about the lives of the ruthlessly competitive men and women of Madison Avenue advertising. AMC will premiere the second season of its critically-acclaimed drama Mad Men on Sunday July 27th at 10PM EST.
Following are the additional interactive features to coincide with the second season of Mad Men:
Pilot and final episodes: Beginning July 2nd, the Mad Men pilot will be available to stream online. Then on July 20th, Season One’s finale will be available throughout August.
Web Chat: amctv.com will feature a live web chat with series creator Matt Weiner immediately following the premiere episode on July 27th, at 11PM EST, for one hour. Amctv.com will also host a live web chat following the Season Two finale on Sunday, October 19th with a lead member from the cast.
Weekly Recap and Sneak Peek: Each week there will be a 1-2 minute recap of video from the previous week’s episode. At the end of each episode that premieres, the linear network will point viewers online to catch a sneak peek at next week’s Mad Men.
Mad Men Re-cap: amctv.com will feature a 10 minute re-cap from Season One, getting viewers up to speed for Season Two.
Q & A’s: Following each episode, amctv.com will feature a question-and-answer session with an expert contributor to the series, ranging from the make-up artist, or costume designer, to music supervisor or editors.
60’s Handbook: amctv.com will identify references that are made in Mad Men and then provide a historical perspective about them from the 60’s. For example, in Season One, Don Draper pitched the Kodak account. amctv.com will elaborate on Kodak with specifics, including when the company launched, and what products they offered in that era.
Mad Men Scrapbook: amctv.com will feature props that were included within Mad Men so viewers can visit the site for a closer look. For example, Don Draper receives a Valentine’s card in Episode One. That same card will be featured online so users can see it upclose.
Photo Essays: amctv.com will include storyboard photo essays that will be thematically categorized and progress after each episode. There will also be a Sterling Cooper portfolio of the accounts they pitch from the series.
Online Quizzes: amctv.com will feature trivia quizzes that refer to 1962, in general, and also specific to the series. Each week a prize will be awarded to the winner.
Behind the Scenes: amctv.com will feature exclusive behind-the-scenes footage that will offer a backstory about how the scene was shot.
Community forum: amctv.com will feature a daily-moderated discussion about the series.
The winner of two Golden Globes and a Peabody Award, Mad Men burst onto the scene when it debuted on AMC in July 2007 and quickly became one of the most talked about series on television, topping dozens of critics’ "Best of 2007" lists. Hailed by The New York Times as "a series that breaks new ground by luxuriating in the not-so-distant past…it serves as a bridge to a faded and now forbidden world," Mad Men was featured as a Top 10 program of 2007 in a number of national publications, including TIME, USA Today, People, TV Guide and the Los Angeles Times, and was lauded as "the best show of the year" by the Associated Press.
About AMC
AMC is a multi-platform network that celebrates classic movies and high-quality scripted series. Among the elite services reaching over 94,000,000 homes, AMC defines what it means to be a classic movie network today, creating a distinctive viewing experience that celebrates all that is enduringly cool, personal and powerfully relevant about movies. AMC’s comprehensive library of popular movies strike a meaningful chord with its audience, and its critically-acclaimed slate of originals all have a cinematic quality that allow them to complement and be complemented by some of the best movies of all time. A division of Rainbow Media Entertainment Services, AMC’s sister divisions include WE tv and IFC TV. AMC is THE FUTURE OF CLASSIC.
Rainbow Media Holdings LLC
Rainbow Media Holdings LLC is a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC). Rainbow Media is a leading producer of targeted, multi-platform content for global distribution, creating and managing some of the world’s most compelling and dynamic entertainment brands, including AMC, IFC, WE tv, Sundance Channel, LIFESKOOL, SPORTSKOOL, and VOOM HD Networks. Through IFC Entertainment, Rainbow Media also owns and manages the following: IFC Films, a leading distribution company for independent film; IFC Productions, a feature film production company that provides financing for select independent film projects; and IFC Center, a three screen, state-of-the-art cinema in the heart of New York’s Greenwich Village. Rainbow Media also operates Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation, its advertising sales company; Rainbow Network Communications, its full service network programming origination and distribution company; and 11 Penn TV, a company that manages Rainbow Media’s NYC studios and post-production facilities.