74 real-world brands feel the love during season 4 of 'Mad Men'

Lucky Strike cigarettes dropped its fictional ad agency, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, but still managed to reap the rewards from its association with Mad Men. According to tracking firm Joyce Julius & Associates, the smokes landed $360,000 worth of (real-world) unpaid media exposure from AMC's hit series. (Never mind that the playboy scion of the ciggies' controlling family is portrayed as a drunken lout, which is less than flattering even though it's make believe.) The 13 episodes in the '60s-set drama's just-ended fourth season contained 74 brand references, including Clearasil, Honda, Ponds, Life cereal and Samsonite, the Joyce Julius study found. Sunday night's finale packed in the American Cancer Society, Dow Chemical, the Salvation Army, Disneyland, Saran Wrap and Corning. Those are all worth money, which will no doubt come as welcome news to marketers who don't have to cough up any green to be featured on the show. But now that the fourth season's finished, where's the solace for the rest of us?

'Mad Men' might just have cured the common hackneyed tagline

Viewers of last night's episode of Mad Men no doubt cringed when an aspiring young copywriter failed to bowl over Don Draper and Peggy Olson with a portfolio filled with variations on the tagline, "Cure for the common [fill in the blank]." Come to think of it, the slogan does sound pretty familiar. Who else has gone this hackneyed route? Nissan, for one. In 2001, the carmaker rolled out a campaign themed "The cure for the common car." Before that, in 1995, Chrysler hyped its 1995 Sebring as "The cure for the common coupe." The auto industry wasn't the only segment to fall prey. In 1986, Taco Bell dubbed itself "The cure for the common meal." In 2000, the NY Waterway system was "The cure for the common commute." USA Networks also advertised itself as the "Cure for the common show" back in 1997. Though it seems this strain of lazy thinking is endemic to the profession, take heart. After this exposure in Mad Men, we may finally have found a cure for the common "Cure for the common…" ads.

Finally, a Mad Men tie-in that Roger Sterling would approve of

Anyone catch a glimpse of Joan's bullet bra on Mad Men the other night? How in the world could you miss it? It's a testament to the work of Janie Bryant, the stylist on the retro-chic AMC series—not to mention actress Christina Hendricks' amazing hourglass figure—and the fact that Bryant knows her way around highly engineered undergarments. No wonder, then, that she'll be working with intimate apparel in her time off the set. Maidenform has just announced that Bryant will star in an online ad campaign to hype the Ultimate Push-Up Bra, Flexees Firm Control Slip and Fat Free Dressing shapewear. The spots will be scattered around Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and maidenform.com starting this month. Bryant (pictured) already works with the brand on Mad Men, using vintage bras and garters and such to recreate the fashionable '60s. (Can those women breathe?) The new products, though looking for the same results—perk up, flatten down and cinch in—are probably a tad less torturous. Or, ladies, we can only hope.

Pretend to get drunk, have affairs with Mad Men dolls

Mattel, in partnership with Lionsgate and AMC, today unveiled Mad Men Barbie dolls. Having watched the series, I'd say the dolls are not intended for children. In fact, the Mad Men replicas are meant for collectors, who would appreciate their couture clothing and accessories. The action figures, which retail for $74.95, are modeled after four of the show's characters:  Don Draper, Betty Draper, Roger Sterling and Joan Holloway (now Harris). While the Barbies don't look exactly like the characters, I can see the resemblance and the 1960s fashion they represent. Ironically, this is pretty good advertising for a show that's about advertising. Don Draper would be proud.

—Posted by Elena Malykhina

Last chance to get your official 'Mad Men' Brooks Brothers suit

Fans of the AMC show Mad Men don't need to be told that the season-three finale airs this Sunday night. But if you want to do more than just watch the show—specifically, if you want to dress like dashing Sterling Cooper creative director Don Draper—you'd better shake a leg, daddy-o. The official Mad Men Edition Suit from upscale clothier Brooks Brothers (which has made almost all the clothes for the show's male characters) is nearly sold out. "The run was limited to 250 suits," says Brooks Brothers director of communications Arthur Wayne, "and there are only a few left." Since going on sale Oct. 9, the gray sharkskin ensemble (list: $998) has been a brisk seller. BB's Rodeo Drive store sold out of the special threads after only three days. And no wonder: It's not often that a retailer will sell you pretty much the same outfit that a costume designer makes for TV. But in this case, it was a bit of reverse engineering. Brooks Brothers—the haberdasher of choice for generations of business sharks—consulted with Mad Men costume designer Janie Bryant, opening its archive of catalogs from the early 1960s. The Mad Men Edition Suit differs from what actor John Hamm wears on the set in one major respect: It has a much lower waist. "Pants were high-waisted in 1963," Wayne says, adding that some contemporary adjustments were necessary. "Our suit has a more contemporary fit," he says. After all, "the guy buying this is style conscious."

—Posted by Robert Klara