​AMC played up the mystery and sense of the unknown in its season seven campaign for “Mad Men” ahead of its Sunday premiere.

The network managed to evoke boundary-pushing, travel, and heading into unchartered waters, all while keeping the tone and style of the campaign wrapped in the familiar 60s chic and polish that fans of the drama have come to expect.

And they also acknowledged that a lot of viewers needed a quick refresher course after so many months off the air. Because, let’s be honest: when you’ve got a detail-rich, nuanced series that a lot of fans like to enjoy with a nice, classy drink—just like the characters—there are gonna be some plot points that get, um, forgotten.

Enter: “Mad Men in Less Than 2 Minutes.”

AMC cut three different versions of these catch-up videos, the “Don Draper Edition,” the “Peggy Olson Edition,” and the “Series Edition.”

One of the centerpieces of the campaign was the concept of “taking off.”

AMC shot a gorgeous set of stills and teaser videos set at the airport that looked like they could have been taken straight from an episode, but which showrunner Matthew Weiner—who is a stickler for secrecy—insisted contained no plot hints or upcoming scenes.

As Alice Russell sings “Gotta Get My Mind Clear / Got Nothing to Lose,” from her song “Let Go (Breakdown)” we see the main characters from the series exiting an airplane, waiting in an airplane lounge, or exiting a taxi curbside.

Each of the :15 teasers ends with the tagline “Mad Men Takes Off April 13.”

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And taking that “pushing boundaries” and “taking off” theme a bit further, there was also a piece of psychedelic key art and trailer (which also got The Simpsons treatment).

[Image: AMC]

[Image: AMC]

In the final week leading up to the premiere, AMC also had a bit of fun with their viewers, installing a giant scotch glass outside Penn Station in New York and in L.A.‘s Highland Park neighborhood that served as a countdown clock of sorts, with the liquor gradually disappearing.

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