This past week at work, we held our first event, a book launch and signing by Jane Maas. Jane is a seventy-nine-year-old firecracker heading out on a 40 city book tour to promote her latest book, ‘Mad Women, The Other Side of Life on Madison Avenue in the ’60s and Beyond.’
She is quite the legend. Clawing her way up the ranks at Oglivy & mather as a copywriter in 1964, Maas eventually rose to become a creative director and agency officer. She is best known for her role in the “I Love New York” campaign and has worked on countless other large brands.
But still, she reminds me of an adorable, albeit a little crazy, grandmother. With her tiny 4’8″ stature, she is delicate and kind. But knowing her success in the agency, you know when you meet her that she must have been a force to be reckoned with.
Jane Maas signing my book!
I enjoyed her anecdotes on life in the advertising world in the 1960s as one of the few women to disregard the pressures of motherhood, accepting the lower pay than her male peers and stumbling into working hard to succeed. She told stories of other women of her time, hilariously explaining with each story that most of the women her age didn’t care if the truth came out about their escapades when they were younger, what did they have to lose? When you’re eighty you have a lot less reserve about ruining your reputation, and would much rather tell the (crazy) truth.
All in all, I’m unbelievably appreciative that we were able to meet such a female powerhouse of the advertising world, and even more happy to know that she was such a good person and led such a rewarding life. Here’s to hoping I’m heading out on a forty city book tour at eighty years old!
I’ll be sure to write again once I finish her book!
Great post about mad women, I just ordered the book !
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