9. Getting Lucky
Smoking; bad for you yes, very much so, but cool? Well, when some less-than-desirable type with nicotine stained fingers is blowing it in your face as you try to walk past, perhaps not. When it's Joan Holloway wrapping her ruby lips around that Lucky Strike, you fleetingly think how lucky it is and watch her exhale into a pout that belays her often icy exterior. Yes, there's no doubt that Mad Men makes smoking look cool, and back in the 1960s a lot of people smoked. Not like today where the smoker is pushed out into the rain to enjoy their fix or given an accusing eye for holding a packet. No, to go with that stylish drink the cigarette was always the great double act, and as you relax into your comfy chair after a hard day at the office with your chosen poison, what better way to complete it than with a cigarette. Whether it's for mother and daughter to bond, or just because you fancy lighting up in a meeting because that's what you do, there's no denying that smoking has the rebellious appeal, and makes us lust for a place in Mad Men where cigarettes are smoked with style by dashing ad executives and fiery redheads. (I would say this will be my only reference to Christina Hendricks, but it really won't be.)