History YMMV / MadMen

** Season 5 received 17 Emmy nominations, among the most the show's received in a single year, and walked away with 0 wins.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped:
** Aside from the obvious about the social injustices of the era against People of Color and minorities, the working class, women, the disabled, the mentally ill, addicted people, children, and the LGBTQ community along with how shallow advertising is and how Rape and Sexual Harassment are traumatic and humiliating for the victim and even those indirectly involved, there is a recurring theme of Self-Actualization and Acceptance. How people need to accept themselves for how they are while growing as people along the way, even if they don't change completely, they need to work within their own psyche and realize their full potential. And that everyone deserves some love. We still have a long way to go on all these social issues, even in the 21st century.
** The episode "Mystery Date" points out from Joan's story, the Butler Shoes ad, the news about the Richard Speck Student Nurse murders, and how anxious all the women characters got at a possible intruder (Peggy and Dawn screaming when they ran into one another at Don's office, Sally sleeping under the sofa with the butcher knife, and Pauline Francis having the plan to keep the weapon close by) that RomanticizedAbuse is anything but romantic and is more about exercising control over another person.

* TooBleakStoppedCaring: Since this is a show that essentially badmouths TheSixties, it can be rather difficult for some to find anyone to root for over the show's long run because of how miserable everyone is. None of the main characters are in happy relationships and almost all of them are unfaithful at one point or another. The female characters face the sexist tendencies of the time period while the male characters indulge in them and the main character, Don, never learns from his past behavior and keeps entering into an endless cycle of hurting those around him and himself.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: While the show did aim for the theme of how the time period was not as idyllic as some people may remember (even if not everyone [[MisaimedFandom got the message)]], it can be rather difficult for some to find anyone to root for over the show's long run because of how miserable everyone is. None of the main characters are in happy relationships and almost all of them are unfaithful at one point or another. The female characters face the rampant sexism of the time period while the male characters indulge in it and the main character, Don, never learns from his past behavior and keeps entering into an endless cycle of hurting those around him and himself.

* The final scene of the series when [[spoiler: Don smiles contently and imagines the iconic "I'd like to buy the world a coke" ad".]]

** Glenn's not too well liked. His creepy tendencies towards Betty and Sally already didn't endear him, but the real tipping point is that he's played by the showrunner's son, who most viewers agree doesn't exactly give the most riveting performance. This has caused Glenn to develop a reputation as a CreatorsPet.

** The famous scene of Peggy triumphantly heading to her new job in the final season while wearing sunglasses and smoking a cigarette.
** When Pete attempts to get Don fired by telling Bert about his past. Bert then calmly walks up the overly ambitious executive and completely shuts him down, saying "Mr. Campbell, who cares?".

** Sal was the most liked junior executive early on and a sympathetic portrayal of a gay man discovering his sexuality, and many discussions see fans wanting him back.

** The famous scene of Peggy heading to her new job in the final season while wearing sunglasses and smoking a cigarette.
** Bert shutting down Pete's blackmail with "Mr. Campbell, who cares?"

* SignatureScene: The famous scene of Peggy heading to her new job in the final season while wearing sunglasses and smoking a cigarette.

** Among the few never to be nominated is Vincent Kartheiser as Pete, who many thought was deserving of consideration for his work in Season 5's "Signal 30".

** Jon Hamm has spoken in interviews of how it amazes him when male fans talk about what a great guy Don is and even speak of wanting to live like him (not getting that the character is a wretched, selfish, self-destructive mess) as well as when female fans speak of Don as being a guy they want to be with (when his horrible treatment of women is a key part of his character).

** Don himself. While he has been acclaimed as a well-realized and complex character, there's contention as to whether his deep character flaws affect the audience's ability to be invested in him. Many argue that his complexity makes him an interesting character you can be invested in even if you disagree with his decisions and find him to be a bad person, others find him so horrible that they simply can't care about what happens to him. How justified he is in his decisions in a number of situations also tends to be a subject of debate.

** Despite the significant presence he was given in Season 6, James Wolk was deemed ineligible to compete in the Guest Actor category when the producers/network failed to submit him on the nominating ballot.

--> "I was there! I lived through that period. ''Mad Men'' doesn’t capture one single thing about the décor, costumes, or sexual interaction [of TheSixties]. It is a total projection of contemporary snarky attitudes into the past. If you want to see what women were actually like in that period of sexual repression, just put in a DVD of ''Film/{{Psycho}}'' and watch the phenomenal Janet Leigh as a secretary in a Phoenix office at the start. That is it!''

* EnsembleDarkHorse: Joan became the toast of fans and critics during the first season for her attitude and distinctive figure, gaining a much more important role as the series wore on.

** By the end of its run, the show received a total of 37 acting nominations and only won once: Jon Hamm for Lead Actor in his very last eligible year. This is notable as the other 4-time winners of Best Drama Series,''Series/HillStreetBlues'', ''Series/LALaw'', and ''Series/TheWestWing'', all won acting Emmys several times.

** Finally [[AvertedTrope averted]] in 2015 when, for the final season, Jon Hamm won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. At long last, the losing streak for the show's actors came to an end.
*** Despite the win for Hamm, they managed to miss winning Best Drama Series over ''Series/GameOfThrones'', which, according to most, had what was probably their weakest season. They also lost out to Best Writing against Game of Thrones as well, which was considered to be one of the more criticized aspects of the season.

** As of season four (and to some as early as Season 3), Betty had become this for a lot of viewers due to her treatment of Sally, along with possible backlash from January Jones' acting in ''Film/XMenFirstClass'' along with the show itself, along with a degree of ValuesDissonance. It's not unusual to look at message boards and blogs and see comments like "I liked this episode a lot. Probably because Betty wasn't in it." The Huffington Post has even considered her one of the worst characters on TV(through the media itself is a bit more mixed). Changed in later seasons when Betty would be featured in less than half the season's episodes and Megan was getting the big sell.

** Jon Hamm has spoken in interviews of how it amazes him fans talk of how great a guy Don is and even wanting to live like him, not getting the man is a wretched, selfish, self-destructive mess.
** Hamm has also added his astonishment of women talking of Don being a guy they want to be with when his horrible treatment of women is a key part of his character.
** Best summed up by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB7XRZ3VzQA this sketch]] of a couple of comedians acting like the characters and loving living it up like the "free" 1960s until it's pointed out how bad mentalities at that era were.

** Leonard, the group attendee with whom Don unexpectedly connects in the series finale.
** Lee Cabot, the woman Don has a conversation with on an airplane at the end of the Season 7A premiere (played by Neve Campbell).

* {{HSQ}}: Nearly every episode of Season 7B is a WhamEpisode.

*** Despite the win for Hamm, they managed to miss winning Best Drama Series over ''Series/GameOfThrones'', whom, according to most, had what was probably their weakest season. They also lost out to Best Writing against Game of Thrones as well, which was considered to be one of the more criticized aspects of the season.

* EarWorm: "Zou Bisou, Bisou..."
** The theme song.

* SeasonalRot:
** Season 5 was the first season that really seemed to sharply divide the fandom, as some carped on the increasingly erratic pacing, uneven tone and focus on more melodramatic subplots, and some felt that Don and Joan were increasingly acting OutOfCharacter, though some liked the darker, less predictable mood of the show all the same. Don's married life with Megan proved rather divisive as well, while some liked her contrast to Betty others thought a lot of their storylines were a redundant case of OfficialCoupleOrdealSyndrome and took away attention from the other character's stories.
** Some fans have accused Season 6 of running into this, due to some strange episodes, and what felt like padding for the season's first few episodes. Additionally, focus on yet another of Don's affairs riled a few fans, particularly as it seemed to come at the expense of sizable plots for Joan or Roger.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: While the show did aim for the theme of how the time period was not as idyllic as some people may remember (even if not everyone [[MisaimedFandom got the message)]], it can be rather difficult for some to find anyone to root for over the show's long run because how miserable everyone is. None of the main characters are in happy relationships and almost all of them are unfaithful at one point or another. The female characters face the rampant sexism of the time period while the male characters indulge in it and the main character, Don, never learns from his past behavior and keeps entering into an endless cycle of hurting those around him and himself.