http://www.ultraswank.net Retro Living and Design from the 50s, 60s and 70s Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:59:46 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/mad-mens-bacardi-fueled-fantasies/ http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/mad-mens-bacardi-fueled-fantasies/#comments Sat, 29 Oct 2011 16:36:08 +0000 Katharine Miller http://www.ultraswank.net/?p=3568 While the rest of the Sterling Cooper staff attends a Kentucky Derby party thrown by Roger Sterling and new wife Jane, Peggy and the other writers are stuck in the office to brainstorm ideas for the Bacardi campaign. Bacardi is looking for five vacation situations for their overall concept “Daiquiri Beach.” Peggy and the boys [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/mad-mens-bacardi-fueled-fantasies/feed/ 0 http://www.ultraswank.net/readable/the-wonderful-future-that-never-was/ http://www.ultraswank.net/readable/the-wonderful-future-that-never-was/#comments Thu, 07 Apr 2011 05:18:52 +0000 Baron von Swankenstein http://www.ultraswank.net/?p=3209 “Here at home we’ll play in the city. Powered by the sun. Perfect weather for a streamlined world. There’ll be Spandex jackets – one for everyone.” - Donald Fagen, “I.G.Y.” Americans of the 1950s and early ’60s had a love affair with technology that, some would say, continues to this day. Nineteen fifty seven saw [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/readable/the-wonderful-future-that-never-was/feed/ 2 http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/mad-men-and-lucky-strike-celebrate-a-toasted-christmas/ http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/mad-men-and-lucky-strike-celebrate-a-toasted-christmas/#comments Tue, 14 Dec 2010 06:07:38 +0000 Katharine Miller http://www.ultraswank.net/?p=2923 As we see more and more public spaces become smoke-free, it’s easy to forget that smoking wasn’t always considered hazardous. In the days when it was socially acceptable to smoke, cigarettes were advertised on television and endorsed by popular celebrities and cartoon characters. A carton of cigarettes was considered an appropriate gift for children to [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/mad-men-and-lucky-strike-celebrate-a-toasted-christmas/feed/ 1 http://www.ultraswank.net/readable/mad-men-unbuttoned-a-romp-through-1960s-america/ http://www.ultraswank.net/readable/mad-men-unbuttoned-a-romp-through-1960s-america/#comments Fri, 10 Dec 2010 06:41:23 +0000 Baron von Swankenstein http://www.ultraswank.net/?p=2882 To say the television series “Mad Men” has been influential would be an understatement. Aside from influencing screen drama towards more meaningful storytelling, the show has also influenced fashion, beauty standards, and revived interest in the mid-20th century and the Atomic Age / Lounge sub-culture of today. “Mad Men’s” approach to history has always been [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/readable/mad-men-unbuttoned-a-romp-through-1960s-america/feed/ 2 http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/mad-men-and-ponds-question-whether-a-clean-face-leads-to-matrimony/ http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/mad-men-and-ponds-question-whether-a-clean-face-leads-to-matrimony/#comments Sat, 13 Nov 2010 11:29:59 +0000 Katharine Miller http://www.ultraswank.net/?p=2803 As of 1965, women’s liberation has not yet pervaded mainstream culture. In season four of Mad Men, we get a taste of what’s to come as women become more independent and empowered. Despite the increase in seemingly independent women, including budding feminist, copywriter Peggy Olsen, most of the ladies inhabiting fictional 1960s NYC are marriage-minded [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/mad-men-and-ponds-question-whether-a-clean-face-leads-to-matrimony/feed/ 1 http://www.ultraswank.net/design/mad-men-and-hilton-prove-hotels-not-just-for-sleeping/ http://www.ultraswank.net/design/mad-men-and-hilton-prove-hotels-not-just-for-sleeping/#comments Sat, 30 Oct 2010 05:53:17 +0000 Katharine Miller http://www.ultraswank.net/?p=2761 From the The Pierre in NYC to the Cavalieri Hilton in Rome, hotels frequently serve as backdrop to exciting plot points on the hit series Mad Men. Creative ad man Don Draper and his cohorts use hotels to seduce clients and women and to celebrate their latest conquests. The show often provides a fictional peek [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/design/mad-men-and-hilton-prove-hotels-not-just-for-sleeping/feed/ 0 http://www.ultraswank.net/roadtrip/the-mad-men-version-of-new-york-city/ http://www.ultraswank.net/roadtrip/the-mad-men-version-of-new-york-city/#comments Wed, 18 Aug 2010 17:21:53 +0000 Chris http://www.ultraswank.net/?p=2657 Join Ella Morton from Rocketboom as she takes us on a tour of the 1960s version of New York City portrayed in television series Mad Men. Check out where the Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce office is located, where to buy the perfect hat and the best place to zip Martinis among many other things. (Via)]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/roadtrip/the-mad-men-version-of-new-york-city/feed/ 0 http://www.ultraswank.net/television/mad-men-season-4-premieres-tonight/ http://www.ultraswank.net/television/mad-men-season-4-premieres-tonight/#comments Sun, 25 Jul 2010 09:25:56 +0000 Chris http://www.ultraswank.net/?p=2629 Tonight at 10 PM/9C, anyone who lives in the US and have access to AMC can catch the season premiere for the award winning series Mad Men. What will happen with the newly founded agency Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce and Don Drapers domestic life? Find out tonight. I can’t wait!]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/television/mad-men-season-4-premieres-tonight/feed/ 1 http://www.ultraswank.net/fashion/1950s-skincare-for-women/ http://www.ultraswank.net/fashion/1950s-skincare-for-women/#comments Wed, 28 Apr 2010 05:41:03 +0000 Guest http://www.ultraswank.net/?p=2137 Dishwashing liquid commercials vary in their subject matter. Either they take an eco-friendly approach, tug at your heartstrings by demonstrating how they save animals affected by an oil spill, or they show the product’s grease-cutting power. The Palmolive brand has come a long way from its origins as a beauty product. The above ad from [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/fashion/1950s-skincare-for-women/feed/ 1 http://www.ultraswank.net/design/barbie-loves-mad-men/ http://www.ultraswank.net/design/barbie-loves-mad-men/#comments Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:59:40 +0000 Chris http://www.ultraswank.net/?p=2001 The first Barbie doll was launched in around the same period as the award winning television show Mad Men depicts. So what could be better than to combine the two and release a special Mad Men collectors series for adults. Here’s a fun chance to act out what adventures could happen with Don Draper, his [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/design/barbie-loves-mad-men/feed/ 3 http://www.ultraswank.net/stores/lets-go-shopping/ http://www.ultraswank.net/stores/lets-go-shopping/#comments Fri, 22 Jan 2010 06:50:05 +0000 Chris http://www.ultraswank.net/?p=1833 Retro futuristic concept drawings for branded stores in the 1950s. I really dig the look and the color schemes. (Via)]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/stores/lets-go-shopping/feed/ 6 http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/classic-hand-drawn-car-ads-from-the-us/ http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/classic-hand-drawn-car-ads-from-the-us/#comments Thu, 21 Jan 2010 06:37:04 +0000 Chris http://www.ultraswank.net/?p=1816 Found a whole bunch of really nice vintage American car advertisements from the 1950s and 1960s in the Ultra Swank Flickr Group. Wish Detroit still would do classic hand drawn illustrations like this today for their cars. Which is your favorite American mid century car and why?]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/classic-hand-drawn-car-ads-from-the-us/feed/ 6 http://www.ultraswank.net/travel/retro-airline-commercials/ http://www.ultraswank.net/travel/retro-airline-commercials/#comments Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:20:20 +0000 Chris http://www.ultraswank.net/?p=1581 I am the mood to travel to some place warm and exciting so I thought, why not experience some vintage airline commercials from the the past for some inspiration? Here are a bunch of TWA, Pan Am and Braniff commercials produced in the late 1960s and the 1970s — the golden age of air travel [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/travel/retro-airline-commercials/feed/ 0 http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/sexist-vintage-ads/ http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/sexist-vintage-ads/#comments Wed, 19 Aug 2009 05:12:45 +0000 Chris http://www.ultraswank.net/?p=1186 Not that Ultra Swank condones being sexist, it just sometimes amazes me what kind of stuff advertising agencies were able to pull off around the 1950s. Here are some fine examples of American ads of the times that takes a punch at women only being good for being secretaries, housewives and objects of beauty. Even [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/sexist-vintage-ads/feed/ 4 http://www.ultraswank.net/inspiration/mad-men-yourself/ http://www.ultraswank.net/inspiration/mad-men-yourself/#comments Mon, 10 Aug 2009 05:30:55 +0000 Chris http://www.ultraswank.net/?p=1166 If you always wanted to know how you would fit in the Mad Men world of New York in the early 1960s, here’s your chance. AMC has made available a cute website that lets you create your own Mad Men identity and then download your favorite creations as buddy icons and sleek wallpaper for your [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/inspiration/mad-men-yourself/feed/ 5 http://www.ultraswank.net/television/mad-men-casting-call/ http://www.ultraswank.net/television/mad-men-casting-call/#comments Thu, 23 Jul 2009 05:25:25 +0000 Chris http://www.ultraswank.net/?p=1115 If you always wanted to work in the advertising business in New York circa 1962, here’s your chance! AMC are advertising a contest for a walk-on role for season 4 of the series which basically means that you have a chance to get a small speaking part in a future episode. To enter the competition [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/television/mad-men-casting-call/feed/ 3 http://www.ultraswank.net/music/fly-eastern/ http://www.ultraswank.net/music/fly-eastern/#comments Wed, 26 Mar 2008 20:45:00 +0000 Chris http://www.ultraswank.net/uncategorized/fly-eastern/ Here in Sweden we just skipped spring, summer and autumn and went directly back to winter again, so why not take a trip to the sun with Eastern Airlines? Here are six one-minute vintage commercials with none other than Brazilian bossa legend Astrud Gilberto on vocals. The jingles were recorded in the late 1960s and [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/music/fly-eastern/feed/ 28 http://www.ultraswank.net/television/more-mad-men/ http://www.ultraswank.net/television/more-mad-men/#comments Mon, 17 Dec 2007 20:09:00 +0000 Chris http://www.ultraswank.net/uncategorized/more-mad-men/ Since my previous post about the TV show Mad Men from AMC back in November I have now watched the entire first season (13 episodes) and thought I would share some thoughts about the show. Mad Men is a drama that revolves around the life of creative director Donald Draper who works at a prestigious [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/television/more-mad-men/feed/ 5 http://www.ultraswank.net/television/mad-men/ http://www.ultraswank.net/television/mad-men/#comments Tue, 06 Nov 2007 13:20:00 +0000 Chris http://www.ultraswank.net/uncategorized/mad-men/ Mad Men is a drama series from AMC about a swank ad agency in Manhattan, New York. It takes place in the early 1960s, when working with advertising was probably the most glamorous work you could have at that period as portrayed in many movies from that decade. For instance Lover Come Back starring Rock [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/television/mad-men/feed/ 5