Martha's Surprise, Couldn't He Just Mail It?...

MAD FOR THE SHOW: Break out those girdles and high heels — that fashion trendsetting show “Mad Men” appears to be a bigger hit so far in its second season. Approximately $8 million was spent this summer promoting the show’s second season, an investment that led to a record number of viewers for its season two premiere on Sunday. The Emmy-nominated drama raked in an average of 2.1 million total viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research, which is more than double the 915,000 viewers the show averaged during its first season. “Mad Men” had only one sponsor on Sunday, BMW, and the automaker is also the sole sponsor of its Web site, although Target is also an advertiser on the program.

On the fashion front, AMC worked with Bloomingdale’s in June to present the iconic fashions from the show in store windows, in advance of the premiere. The marketing hype is undoubtedly helping along sales of the perfectly timed release of the first-season DVD, which is a number-four bestseller on Amazon.com and number three on the Barnes & Noble Web site. And the buzz is spilling into the pages of countless magazines, including the cover of Entertainment Weekly and Best Life, which has lead actor Jon Hamm on its September cover wearing Black Fleece by Brooks Brothers. — A.W.