Phil Edwards
is a senior producer for the Vox video team.
As Mad Men draws to a close, one thing has stayed constant: for viewers, Don Draper's been a persistent symbol of cool. He's so cool, in fact, that he inspired hairstyle trends in our own world. Don's handsomeness seems timeless.
However, by 1970, when Mad Men is expected to end, advertising campaigns were saying his hairstyle was lame:
Yes, Madison Avenue called out people like Don Draper for "head-wetting." Launched in the 1970s, Gillette's Dry Look hair product addressed the fact that longer hair looked greasy when styled with Vitalis or Brylcreem. By that time, creams and tonics were reserved for old men who weren't in sync with the zeitgeist — like our own modern fashion icon, Don Draper.
Back then, some people might have considered Don's style classic. But there's a good chance he would have just looked out of touch.