• Los Angeles Times, Friday, June 22, 2007 11:30 AM

Consumer activist group Commercial Alert has filed a formal complaint with the Distilled Spirits Council. It alleges that Jack Daniel's sponsorship of the AMC series "Mad Men" violates industry standards by mixing sex, irresponsible behavior and alcohol.

The series--set in a New York ad agency in 1960--is scheduled to premiere July 19. The complaint is based on a clip that shows an ad executive climbing into bed with his girlfriend, as well as reports that Jack Daniel's will be integrated into the show's scenes, says Robert Weissman, managing director of the nonprofit organization.

Matthew Weiner, creator and executive producer of "Mad Men," says the drinking in the show is not advocacy. "I'm trying to tell a story about that time," he says--a period when people drank more, including "in their cars, at work, in the morning at work." Though Jack Daniel's will be shown in scenes, Weiner says he will not alter content to promote the brand.

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