Mad Men Live on Twitter

Recently I posted a tweet loosely referencing the AMC show Mad Men. Moments later I received an e-mail that Bud Melman was following me on Twitter.

I didn’t immediately realize who this was, even once I’d checked the profile. Then it dawned on me that it’s one of the lesser, supporting characters on Mad Men. Looking through his profile I noticed posts by Peggy Olson, Don Draper and Roger Sterling.

What’s really interesting is how the character’s are interacting with one another on topics that might be heard in the show. Even characters that don’t appear in the show, but are mentioned, like David Ogilvy (presumably of Ogilvy and Mather) is there. He’s currently trying to solicit Peggy Olson for a copywriting job.

Speculatively I think the system works like this:

1. A Twitter bot looks through the public timeline for references to the show
2. When a reference is found, a lesser character follows you (I assume so it’s not blatantly an advertising ploy)

The goal, it would seem, is to get you to poke around the cast a bit to encourage you to share your love for a character, and thus the show. Draper, for example, has around 2,500 followers.

A great way to create buzz about a show with a pretty good following. I love that a show set with characters in advertising lives up to it’s pseudo-reputation as a top notch buzz builder.