Lucky for us – especially Ian Ross – advertising has mostly avoided the scourge of political correctness.

Which is just as well because often the best advertising is about finding, then celebrating or confronting the truth in all its messy human inconsistency and frailty.

It ain’t always pretty.

Or PC.

Which is probably why Mad Men is so loved.

Not only because it celebrates the golden age of advertising. But because it captures an era when men were men and women were – how did they put it back then? – dolls.

Which makes it very fitting that Mattel has announced the addition of Mad Men characters to its equally un-PC Barbie range.

As the New York Times reports:

The pairing of Barbie and “Mad Men” is more interesting than the typical licensing agreement because of their shared history. Barbie was introduced in March 1959, and the first episode of “Mad Men” is set in March 1960.

“‘Mad Men’ represents so beautifully the universe that created Barbie,” said Robert Thompson, professor of television and popular culture at Syracuse University, because the series is about the selling of the American consumer society.

To be included are Don Draper, wife Betty and colleague Roger Sterling. Oh yeah, and Joan Holloway, the agency’s office manager and Roger’s one-time mistress.

And who could blame him?

She really is a doll.

Differentiation is one of the fundamental strategies of modern advertising and marketing.

Which made it all the more surprising when industry colleagues drew our attention to the recent activities of a competitor agency.

Take this integrated blog-come-website.

An innovation in our category, in the last week it’s been rebuilt just down the road seemingly to the same set of plans.

Or The Bunker, a DM GROUP innovation of three years, which has also reappeared at the same place as The Vault.

A name, sentiment and use of striking similarity.

It makes us wonder what other initiatives have been adopted. Our thoughtDM at weekly WIPs? Our birthdayDM for a client’s special day? Our drinkDM for refreshing meetings?

But on reflection it should come as no surprise.

Three of their six senior staff learned their craft at trademarkDM, a heritage proudly promoted on their website.

And while we’re flattered others would want to seek our people and ideas, we’d hope they and you would expect them to be different.

If not even better.

So if you’d like original – differentiating – thinking contact us.

If not click here.