A subplot on last night’s “Mad Men” was an attempt by the agency to get the then-new Rolling Stones to do a commercial for Heinz.
It was mentioned that in England, the Stones had done a spot for Rice Krispies. Which is true. See it here:
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Nice find, Dan.
What interests me in the Mad Men narrative is how willing Don was to entertain the client’s stupid idea.
He’s 40 now, and “so straight he has corners.” He’s lost his creative edge.
Don’s a manager now, and it does not suit him.
Not to delve too deeply into the show, but part of my problem with Don Draper is that I don’t think he ever had a creative edge. Why should we accept him as being such a creative genius?
Other than the Kodak “Carousel” presentation, nothing he’s ever done or said, ad-wise, has been impressive. He’s not supposed to be one of the George Lois/Bill Bernbach creative revolution types, but he’s not even a David Ogilvy or Rosser Reeves. If Don looks lost now, or was willing to entertain the Stones idea, I think it’s because he was never that good to begin with.
“Mad Men” works better as a period drama more than a show about advertising. I do like that they’re pulling in more real-life examples, like the Y&R water-drop incident and the Stones thing. But the show works because of the characters’ charms and flaws, not because it’s set in advertising.