I just finished the Mad Men series finale. I have mixed feelings about how it wrapped. I will miss continuing to watch how the lives of some characters develop; I will probably miss the spectacular sets, lighting, and cinematography the most.
My initial thoughts:
- I never would have imagined Don Draper taking up meditation.
- I am really intrigued by closing song choice. Coca Cola’s “Hilltop” advertisement seems an ideal sign-off because it not only reveals how dramatically Don’s desires shift after getting a twinkle in his eye (only a few episodes before) from the potential to market the brand, but it also draws attention to the use of product placement in Mad Men in an interesting way. While many of the product placements ranged in their subtlety, the Coke advert seems to be an ideal way to tweak the typical form they’ve used to close each season of this series—they shift from a notable historical moment to mark the end of a year (in the series) and, instead, utilize an historically notable advertisement to mark the end of the series.
