As I’ve stated previously, I’m not a fan/viewer of Mad Men. Yet.

I have all the episodes (from both seasons) on the TiVo and it’s just a matter time before Jenn & I jump in. One of our main influences being her folks, who have become similarly addicted and can’t stop mentioning the show.

Last night alone it merited almost 10 minutes of discussion between my mother-in-law, myself and Jenn, so we’re likely in it, it’s just a matter of “when?”.

One disappointing development, as someone who works in the intersection of marketing and digital, is AMC’s takedown of twitter accounts based on “Mad Men” characters.

Here’s linkage to the coverage:

AMC Has Twitter Suspend Mad Men Accounts
Mad Men characters vanish from Twitter!
AMC Asks Twitter to Remove ‘Mad Men’ Accounts
AMC gets ‘Mad’ over Twitter accounts
I am @paul_kinsey

From certain perspectives this is certainly a wrong-headed and overly-offensive approach. In other ways, AMC is certainly churning up some buzz – albeit negative – about the show and no PR is bad PR.

But what about the current fans, especially those who are on Twitter or were following these “fake” characters? And what about me? Should I care to jump on in the middle if I know that AMC might not like the fact that I would potentially blog or tweet about their show, though not in any character-impersonation capacity?

Is this just a big echo chamber? Do I have the perspective to comment?

I’ll say this: every television show should feel honored to have fans so dedicated and tech-savvy that they’re helping market the show by embodying the characters, even if they don’t always follow your “rules”.

And I’m someone in a position to understand AMC’s plight, but I’ve got to think I would handle this situation differently but, again, maybe I’ve got rose-colored glasses.

In any event, I may be watching Mad Men tonight. This brouhaha, for better or for worse, might be better for AMC if they can gain me as a viewer.

That said, I’m glad they haven’t tuned in to tumblr yet. 😉

Exhibits A & B: What Would Don Draper Do? and What Would Joan Holloway Do?

Until next time …

Disclaimer: The views expressed on this blog are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.

UPDATE: I need to make two crucial, additional points.

1. We finally watched the pilot/first episode and are definitely hooked.

Easy to see why people are so captivated. We’ll be watching more (all) in the very near future.

2. Wouldn’t it be better if the agency, Sterling Cooper, had a Twitter account? Or maybe one of the switchboard operators?

Maybe I’m missing the point here, but I don’t see (yet, anyway) why you’d want to be “friends” on a 21st century technology with a character from the 50’s & 60’s. But that might just be me.

Which begs a follow-up question: as you as a viewer relate to the characters and shows you’re a fan of, how would you rather connect to them via the internet? As networks? As shows? As characters? As creators/actors?

Leave a comment.

UPDATE II: They’re ba-ack!

My main question still stands: when and how do people expect to connect to social media, and Twitter specifically, in “new” ways.

Do you only “friend” or “follow” people you know or is there some kind of process you could articulate that informs your decision-making process?

Just curious.