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]

May 252012
 

Tweet Article first published as Mad Men: Lane Rolls the Dice and Don Rolls Up His Sleeves on Blogcritics. This week’s Mad Men serves up interesting and potentially explosive twists and turns, which are pushing SCDP towards opposing negative and positive poles. In order to save himself from the U.K. tax collector, Lane activates a $50,000 line of credit against anticipated future revenue. He uses this cash influx to paint a rosy financial picture for the partners and fund a bonus pool for the agency from which he can [read more]

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]

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]

May 032012
 

Tweet Article first published as Mad Men: Ups, Downs, and Disappointments on Blogcritics Don And Megan Team Up. Award Letdown. This week’s Mad Men episode takes us on a roller coaster ride of emotions and disappointments. The continuing saga of the Heinz account drives much of the business action in this episode. It provides an interesting look into the genesis of the idea that saves the account, the importance of building client relationships, and how a little luck and female bonding can go a long way. The other dynamic that plays [read more]

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]