Mad Men: 5 Things About Ken That Would Never Fly Today (& 5 That Would)
Mad Men is easily one of the greatest television series of our time. Airing from 2007 to 2015, Mad Men used an advertising agency to explore the changing social landscape of the 1960s, including the civil rights movement and the rise of the counterculture. It also explores universally controversial topics like racism, sexism, and power in the workplace.
It uses our modern lens to criticize various aspects of the 60s, typically depicting its male protagonists as particularly problematic - mere relics of their time. Account executive Ken Cosgrove is one of those protagonists. These are five things about Ken that would never fly today (and five that would).
10 Not Fly: Office Womanizing
In the earlier seasons of Mad Men, most of the male characters are proud womanizers. Ken Cosgrove is arguably the worst of them all. In the early seasons, Ken is far more sleazy than he would later appear.
He's a bit of a jerk, he often gets involved in office politics, and he continuously sleeps around and hits on the women of the office. This type of flagrant disrespect for female employees would most certainly not fly today.
9 Fly: Faithful To His Wife
Ken's importance in the show dwindles as the series progresses, and as such, his character development isn't as obvious as some of the others'. But he still has a character arc, and it's actually quite touching.
As previously discussed, Ken was a wild womanizer at Sterling Cooper. But as the series progresses, he begins to mellow out and mature - and by the time the series ends, he is happily married and faithful to his wife. And that never goes out of style.
8 Not Fly: Doing Drugs At Work
One of the funnier sequences of Mad Men sees Ken wildly tap-dancing while voicing his displeasure about the job to Don. That's because both he and Don are absolutely wired on some type of amphetamine.
They do it to be more productive and alert at work, but there's coffee and various other forms of caffeine for that. Taking powerful amphetamines is most certainly not the way to go about it, and it would never fly in an office today. At least not to the point of tap dancing in the halls...
7 Fly: Treating Peggy With Respect
Despite his womanizing ways, Ken was always the more mature and gentlemanly of the core group of males.
While he initially treats Peggy with disrespect (as all the males do), Ken is the first man to see the error of his ways and begin to treat Peggy with professionalism and respect. He considers Peggy an equal much faster than the other males of the office, and it adds a nice layer to his character. It also "foreshadows" that Ken isn't such a bad guy. He just hangs around with the wrong crowd.
6 Not Fly: Smoking In The Office
This vice certainly doesn't pertain to just Ken. Mad Men has been widely acclaimed for its glamorization of 60s office life, and that certainly includes smoking and drinking in the workplace.
Ken isn't a big drinker (at least not compared to some of the heavier drinkers like Roger and Don), but he certainly partakes in the odd cigarette or two. It's a habit that would never fly in the modern workplace - at least not inside the modern workplace.
5 Fly: Writing Stories As A Side Gig
Another hidden depth to Ken Cosgrove is his writing career. In the earlier seasons of Mad Men, we learn that Ken is a published author. This, in turn, causes some jealousy by the males of the office, as they begin to see Ken as an ambitious intellectual.
However, we later learn that Ken is quite a prominent science fiction author and has published dozens of stories under his pseudonym. He's not proud of his work, but it's the type of gig-based creative work that many artists are attempting today.
4 Not Fly: His Greasy 50s Hair
Like most of the men on the show, Ken Cosgrove rocks a hairdo pulled straight from the 1950s.
The hair eventually loosens up to coincide more with the swingin' 60s, but for the first three seasons, his hair is combed, parted, caked in gel, and manicured to absolute perfection. There's not a hair out of place. It's not that this type of hairstyle wouldn't fly today, but it would be highly reminiscent of a time long gone by. There are ways to do classic, old fashioned hair cuts without looking like a character from a 50s sitcom.
3 Fly: Not Getting Involved In Office Politics
Ken can be a bit of a dweeb at times, but the show consistently paints him as a competent salesman and studious professional. One of his more noble accomplishments is turning down Roger for the partner position.
Roger essentially blackmails Ken into being a partner, guaranteeing him the position in exchange for his father-in-law's business. However, Ken is not one for office politics, so he swiftly turns him down. He just wants to be a loyal employee and nothing more, and that's OK.
2 Not Fly: His Temper
Ken is a good guy, but he has a really fierce temper. The stresses of his job can get to Ken's head, and this is most evident in the season seven premiere, Time Zones. Getting flustered and frustrated is normal, but forcing it out on other people is never OK.
He also uses his temper for revenge after being fired from SC&P. He takes over his father-in-law's role at Dow Chemicals and spitefully demands perfection from SC&P. But that was pretty funny.
1 Fly: Giving Away Accounts In Exchange For Personal Happiness
Another example of Ken's nobility and sense of self-worth comes across when he gives his prosperous Chevrolet account to Pete. Ken is often treated like by the Chevy executives and is even involved in a car crash and shooting on their behalf.
They drive him so crazy and treat him so poorly, that he eventually relents and gives Chevy to his nemesis, Pete. It's the kind of self-worth and self-respect that we could all use a little more of.