Sky Atlantic looks at the mad bad and dangerous world of British advertising in AD MEN

1 x 60’ exclusively for Sky Atlantic HD

Sky Atlantic HD today (Thursday 2nd February, 2012) announces AD MEN a brand new 60 ‘documentary, made by RSA Productions, that lifts the lid on the maverick world of British advertising; tracing it from the revolutionary 60s through to the hedonistic 80s and the dawn of the millennium’s global digital world.

While America’s Mad Men shook up New York, a rival generation of British ad men were revolutionising London. Led by avant-gardes Charles Saatchi, Ridley Scott, Alan Parker, David Puttnam and John Hegarty, these badly behaved, working class firebrands understood the new wave of consumerism that was sweeping Britain and readily exploited the myriad of creative opportunities this nascent world offered.

Celia Taylor, Sky’s Head of Factual and Features, added:

“AD MEN is the perfect documentary to compliment the launch of the eagerly anticipated new season of Mad Men on Sky Atlantic.  A compelling documentary, AD MEN will be an entertaining look at British advertising and how a small group of young creative radicals changed the advertising landscape forever.”

RSA’s Executive Producer Caspar Delaney said: "It's great for RSA to be moving into TV documentaries with a subject matter so close to our hearts. We were inspired by this year's fiftieth anniversary of D&AD, the organisation at the heart of Britain's creative industries. It's a fascinating story about the country's most memorable ads and the amazing, eccentric and maverick men who made them. With great access to the big names of the business such as Alan Parker, David Puttnam and John Hegarty, this is the story of one of the most significant chapters in British cultural history, straight from the horses mouths. Ridley Scott Associates and Sky Atlantic is the perfect match and we're very excited to be working together."

By the eighties, London’s biggest ad agencies were taking over the world. Amidst a heady atmosphere of wealth, excess, sex and hubris, iconic commercials such as Hamlet’s award-winning Happiness Is A Cigar Called Hamlet, the infamous Levis launderette advert and the Heineken refreshes the parts, ensured the awards kept rolling in and their power kept growing.   But it was more than selling soap to housewives, these advertising geniuses influenced what people ate, shopped and even shaped politics. Governments were launched on the back of ad campaigns and Saatchi’s even made an audacious bid to buy Midland bank.

The new millennium heralded a new era: recession, globalisation and the opportunities and threats offered by digital media meant the end of hedonism and extravagant expense claims. Emboldened by these tectonic changes, ad agencies revolutionised again and advertising’s golden age continues to flourish.

AD MEN is the latest commission from Sky Atlantic HD following Sky’s commitment to increase its investment in original British content by 50% over the next three years. By 2014, Sky expects to invest £600 million a year in British programmes across its portfolio of channels.

Commissioned by Sky’s Siobhan Mulholland, Commissioning Editor, Features and Factual, AD MEN is Executive Produced by RSA’s Casper Delaney.  The series will exclusively air on Sky Atlantic HD and Sky Atlantic in March to support the exclusive acquisition of Mad Men, Season 5.

For further information please contact

Tamsyn Zietsman - Head of PR, Sky Atlantic HD
T: +44 (0)20 7032 8093
E: Tamsyn.Zietsman@bskyb.com