Mad Men: Collaborators,Conspirators And Consternation

 Advertising, Advertising Agencies, Don Draper, Hank Wasiak, Mad Men, Madison Avenue, Real Mad Men  No Responses »
Apr 182013
 

Tweet Article first published as Mad Men: Collaborators, Conspirators, and Consternation on Blogcritics. Even by Mad Men standards, “Collaborators” is a dark and depressing episode. In addition to the usual menu of infidelities, betrayals, and marriage implosions there is a miscarriage, wife battering and a sobering reminder of Joan’s prostituting herself for a partnership. The radio and TV background noise is equally as grim with coverage of the current political and social tensions and stories about the Pueblo incident in North Korea and the Viet Nam War’s Tet Offensive. All [read more]

Mad Men Season 6: The Doorway To High Times And Unhappiness

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Apr 122013
 

Tweet Article first published as The Doorway To High Times And Unhappiness on Blogcritics. Season five ended in the Spring of 1967 with the principals of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce considering new office space and contemplating what promised to be a bright future. As Don said to the SCDP staff, “Prepare to take a great leap forward”. Sadly that leap forward would not include Lane Pryce but it is good to see that his name is still on the door. The title of my article covering the [read more]

The Women Of Mad Men Finish Strong

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Jun 142012
 

Tweet Article first published as The Women Of Mad Men Finish Strong on Blogcritics. The women of Mad Men take center stage in the season five finale. Joan takes charge as head of operations despite Lane’s ever present empty chair and Pete’s distractions and disruptions. Lane’s wife takes Don head on turning his apologies and $50,000 check into yet another painful, guilt ridden reminder of Lane’s suicide. Megan breaks through Don’s defensive and controlling attitudes about her career and convinces Don to secure a role for her in SCDP’s Butler shoe [read more]

Mad Men: Tragedy,Irony And The Pursuit Of Happiness

 Advertising, Advertising Agencies, Don Draper, Hank Wasiak, Mad Men, Madison Avenue, Uncategorized  No Responses »
Jun 082012
 

Tweet Article first published as Mad Men. Tragedy, Irony And The Pursuit Of Happiness on Blogcritics This week’s Mad Men episode put SCDP on a tragically sad track that will trigger even more conflict and deeper soul searching at the agency. In an earlier post, I commented that Lane could not survive his forgery and embezzlement actions since they are egregious breaches of the confidence and trust that are essential in an agency partnership. Trust is the critical issue, not the money Lane “borrowed.”  In Don’s emphatic and unilateral [read more]

Mad Men: Jaguar Bares The Soul Of SCDP And Peggy Bails Out

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Jun 012012
 

Tweet Article first published as Mad Men: Jaguar Bares The Soul Of SCDP and Peggy Bails Out on Blogcritics. Episode 11 of Mad Men delivers intense emotions and bares the souls of the partners. Of all the episodes to date, this one touches more emotional chords than any other. Don’s rollercoaster ride with Peggy takes him from being an inconsiderate, nasty boss to feeling an odd mix of betrayal, loss and affectionate pride in her decision to leave SCDP. Don’s emotional journey with Joan moves from standing by her [read more]

Mad Men: Fantasy,Jealousy,Lies,Deception

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May 182012
 

Tweet This week Mad Men was about jealousy, self worth, deception and manipulation. Given all this intrigue the episode is aptlynamed Dark Shadows, a reference to the gothic soap opera television series that ran on ABC from 1966 to 1971. Pete is working on leveraging his head of accounts role at SCDP into a personal PR coup with the New York Times. Encouraged by Bert, Roger decides to do things the old-fashioned way and pitch a new account on the sly. A perfect way to reassert his own worth and keep [read more]

Mad Men: Megan Leaves, Cool Whip Tops It Off

 Advertising, Advertising Agencies, Don Draper, Hank Wasiak, Mad Men, Madison Avenue, Real Stories  6 Responses »
May 102012
 

Tweet Article first published as Mad Men: Megan Leaves, Cool Whip Tops It Off on Blogcritics. This week on Mad Men, Megan discovers her talent and pursues her passion; Peggy stands up to Don (again); music plays its way into the creative department, and Cool Whip tops it all off….especially for me. In 1966 when I moved from Media to the Account Department at Benton & Bowles, my very first assignment was (you guessed it) Cool Whip. There is definitely Mad Men karma at work here. This episode took me on a wonderful [read more]

Mad Men: Babes.Business.Brawls.

 Advertising, Advertising Agencies, Don Draper, Hank Wasiak, Mad Men, Madison Avenue  2 Responses »
Apr 222012
 

Tweet Article first published as Mad Men: Babes,Business, and Brawls on Blogcritics. Things certainly took a turn to the worse at SCDP and office politics got very personal and a bit ugly. A dizzying amount of action is swirling around the agency, and virtually none of it is contributing to creating great advertising or moving the agency ahead. There are no new business wins to boost morale and revenue and SCDP seems to be stuck in neutral. When presented with the golden opportunity to land a prestigious [read more]

Mad Men: Bad Dreams.Tense Realities

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Apr 132012
 

Tweet Article first published as Mad Men: Bad Dreams, Tense Realities on Blogcritics. Mad Men took a darker, more manly turn in this week’s episode. Don’s fevered dream in which he fights off his philandering demons and commits murder, Pauline’s slapping Sally and slipping her some Secanol, Joan’s dumping her husband and reliving her rape at his hands, and the creative department’s delight in looking at Chicago mass murder scene photos certainly made for some disturbing drama. Compared to all of this, things seem relatively calm on the [read more]

Mad Men: A Big Win. Cultural Enlightenment

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Apr 062012
 

Tweet Article first published as Mad Men: A Big Win and Cultural Enlightenment on Blogcritics Youth Culture Meets The Culture Of Mad Men This week’s Mad Men episode highlights the emergence of the ’60s youth culture and its infusion into the advertising business. It foretells the powerful and positive disruptive effect that the culture of youth will have on the advertising business. It really hit home with me. In 1966 I was 23, had celebrated my first year anniversary with Benton & Bowles and made the move from media [read more]

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