Newsweek’s ‘Mad Men’ issue: A success from cover to cover

After running out of material while waiting for a delayed flight, I wandered over to the money trap that is the Hudson News to grab the latest issue of a magazine to which I’ve been considering subscribing. But I was distracted by the cover of the latest Newsweek, which welcomes Mad Men as it returns to AMC this Sunday night. As a huge Mad Men fan, I couldn’t resist. I bought Newsweek for what I thought was a single article about the show.

I had missed the small banner in the top right corner that said, “Welcome back to 1965.” The 80-page double-issue was a look back at the 60s in both text and format. The Mad Men article was not only about the plot lines, but about working women of the time (including the author, who was once a young woman working at Newsweek). “A Tale of Two Romneys” compares today’s campaign with Mitt’s father’s political aspirations in 1966. In between, readers find short reflections on cultural issues of the time—three-martini lunches, bra-burning, and even dropping acid.

And almost all the ads are done up 1960s style, as if the (fictional) staff at (fictional) Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce had developed the campaigns. To cap off the issue, Newsweek looks at some of today’s top advertising firms and the tactics that make them successful.

Left: Continuation of the Mad Men feature. Right: A very '60s ad for a very modern car.

It’s pretty genius. The effort even extends to the web, as Newsweek invites readers to vote on their favorite retro ads from the retro issue’s print and iPad content.

In a time when magazines are struggling to keep readers engaged on paper, this old-fashioned attempt is a winner. Newsweek merges generations in a way that makes baby boomers nostalgic, and young readers curious.

Pretty neat, Newsweek.

-Lisa Rowan