- The new firm is struggling for business, so Peter and Peggy resort to a cheap publicity stunt to lure a client. Meanwhile, Don's personal problems and an unflattering newspaper interview puts his and the firm's image in jeopardy.
- The new Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce has been in business for one year, and it as a business is still floundering. They still have Lucky Strike as their big account, but all other clients account for a small proportion of total revenue. For every new innovative campaign they do, such as the recent television commercial for Glo-Coat, they have problems with another client. For example, Peggy, Pete and Joey are working on a campaign for Sugarberry Ham, and they feel they need to come up with a publicity stunt to replace the non-existent media budget, the stunt which they don't clear with Don and which goes slightly awry. And Don refuses to compromise his creative stance to kowtow to potential new clients. The company is housed in a small office that is not well furnished - it doesn't even have a conference table, the circle of chairs acting as the conference area they tell their clients is to foster dialogue. Don is being interviewed for Ad-Age Magazine, which the other partners trust will increase their exposure but the interview for which Don takes lightly. On the personal front, Don is living in an apartment in town, while Betty and Henry, now married, are living in the Draper house. Life for both Don and Betty personally is not perfect. Don is resisting any notion of a long term relationship, and is treating sex as something other than a loving act. And Betty, who should now be out of the house as per the divorce agreement, hasn't even started looking for alternative housing yet. On top of that, Sally is having problems adjusting to Henry's extended family, Henry's mother, who in turn, is having her own problems with Henry's new instant family.—Huggo
- The new advertising firm of Sterling, Cooper, Draper and Pryce is up and running. They now have office space and a reduced staff from their previous enterprise but have managed to pull in some accounts and are struggling to make a go of it. Don is interviewed by an industry magazine for a profile on him but doesn't take the opportunity to promote the firm or any of their clients. Realizing he screwed up, he decides to do something about it. Peggy Olson and Pete Campbell decide to pull a publicity stunt to try and get a local firm to buy more advertising. They decide not to tell Don about it but Peggy is left with little choice when she has to bail the actors they hired out of jail on Thanksgiving. Don is now living alone in a downtown apartment with Betty still living in their old house. There is still a good deal of anger on both sides of the relationship however.—garykmcd
- "Mad Men" - "Public Relations" - July 25, 2010
At last "Mad Men" returns!
Don is being asked "who is Don Draper" in a lunch interview at a restaurant. He's not sure how to answer. He's not giving the reporter anything other than that he's from the Midwest, where you're taught it's impolite to talk about yourself.
He's asked about his popular Glo-Coat ad which has caused a stir. He says he wanted it to be like the movies and says it's not an ad, at least not for the first 30 seconds. Pete and Roger arrive and shake hands. The guy stands but almost topples because his prosthetic leg is crooked. Korea. Pete thanks him for his sacrifice and Roger says he'd like to bend his ear when his book comes out.
They head off to the Sheraton to take a meeting with two men from Jantzen who are trying to find ways to sell their new "two piece" without being lewd. They are a family company see, and they refuse to call it a bikini. (They loved Don's Glo-Coat ad). Because they refuse to go the lewd route they're losing market share. They say they don't want to play in the gutter because that's not who their customers are, Don says "right now."
The boys return and we get a look at their swanky new digs in the Time-Life building. Lots of glass, pretty blond receptionists and private offices, including one for Joan, but as of yet, no conference table.
Cooper enters Don's office to complain about him missing a meeting with an important potential client and the lack of conference table.
Pete wonders what Don's problem is with Jantzen. He says they're prudes plus guys from another, bigger firm were waiting in the hallway. Pete says they've been on a lot of cattle calls. Don is feeling pressure and says every hour of his time has to be accounted for so he only wants Pete to bring him into rooms where he actually has a chance. Don worries they don't have Y&R firepower. Pete says they're the scrappy upstart. Don hopes he doesn't tell potential clients that. Pete says he doesn't need to because it's all about Don, everybody wants him.
Pete delivers a ham to Peggy is mad that the account, Sugarberry foods, didn't pan out. Don hated the work as well. (Apparently they tested the ham in only four stores, and two were in Jewish neighborhoods.)
Don meets with his attorney and goes over some financial business inlcuding when Betty and Henry and the kids will be moving out of the Westchester house since Don is still paying the mortgage on a place he doesn't live in as well as his own Village flat. Don says he doesn't want to push. The lawyer asks if Don's enjoying himself with the ladies.
Pete and Peggy brainstorm on how to save the canned ham account and come up with a PR stunt of hiring two actresses to fight over the ham and get the fight in the papers. (Meanwhile Peggy and art department guy Joey are spoofing a TV ad that has them saying to each other "John" - "Marsha.") They wonder if they should run it by Don but decide against it.
Roger visits Don who's resting in his office. He's giving Don the hard sell to come to Thanksgiving (1964) and date Jane's friend Bethany. Don says no. Roger is worried about him, solo. Don says he's hardly been a monk. Roger has Don's assistant make a date with Jane's friend for Saturday night.
Don heads back to his bachelor pad and is greeted by his maid Celia, who made him some pork chops and is worried he isn't eating. He turns on the TV and shines his shoes. He stops when an ad comes on. It looks like a western drama with someone looking through jail cell doors with a cowboy hat on. The camera pulls out and we see it's a kid and he starts yelling "let me out." The camera pulls back further to reveal a suburban kitchen the "jail" is an overturned chair on the kitchen table keeping the boy from walking on his mom's newly shined floors, with Glo-Coat.
The next day he works at home and then goes to meet Bethany for dinner. She's an actress currently working as a "super" in the opera- one of the actors who fills out the scene. She loves it, she plays courtesans and wenches and loves the music and costumes and atmosphere. She offers to have him come as her guest since the only time he ever went to the opera was for business and he didn't really pay attention. She says she knows it's his first date since the divorce -first that Roger engineered he points out- and she's breaking a lot of her rules dating a divorced man but Jane is making him her cause. He thinks this is odd since there are so many real problems. Bethany agrees that the world is very dark now and wonders if the recent deaths of the freedom riders is what it takes to change things.
He takes her home by cab. She asks after Thanksgiving and he says he has plans. She says the holidays must be complex for him. They kiss. He wants to keep going but she offers a "weak no." She wants to see him again. He says how about right now? She says if not Thanksgiving then perhaps New Year's Eve. He offers to walk her up. She knows that trick and she leaves him wanting more. He heads home. (We learn he lives at Waverly and 6th).
Peggy meets with the ham fight actresses at a diner near the grocery store. It went well, until one hit the other. The one who was hit is not happy. Pete shows up with their pay and says to look for their names in Monday's Daily News. The one who was hit asks for aspirin and then grabs the other's hair. Pete separates them.
At the office, a sunburnt Harry enters Joan's office. He's been working in L.A. where he sold a Jai-Alai special to ABC. He's excited to spread the word.
Don arrives and Sterling and Pryce look unhappy. The Ad Age story has come out and it describes Don as falsely modest and as a "handsome cypher." Roger is mad that Don gave him nothing since this was a great opportunity to promote the new firm. Don says it's his job is to write ads, not talk about himself and that the magazine will be lining bird cages by Friday. Roger is mad he turned the sizzle from Glo-Coat into a wet fart. He also mentions that Jane's friend really liked him but thought he was handsy in the cab.
Joey and Peggy come to Pete's office. The ham fight story has been picked up by other papers and Pete is very excited to report the Sugarberry people are really happy. Peggy says they should seize the moment and brainstorms slogans: "the winner of the ham battle is you," "our ham's worth fighting for." She tells Joey to get on it.
In the conference room the partners meet, still sans table and are not happy about the article. Neither is Ho Ho the Jai-Alai man who is pulling his business since Don didn't mention him in the story. Cooper is livid. Don says they'll survive. Lane points out that without Jai Alai Lucky Strike is now 71 percent business, which is untenable. Don kicks a chair. Cooper wants him to do an interview with the Wall Street Journal. Don says his work speaks for him. Cooper tells him that turning creative success into business is his work and he failed. Everyone leaves. Joan reassures Don that it'll pass.
Henry and Betty are having Thanksgiving at his mother's house. Henry's grown son arrives bearing gifts for Sally and Bobby. Henry's mother offers up little digs at Henry and Betty. Sally doesn't like the food and when Betty tries to force feed her she spits it out. She apologizes and runs off and Betty chases after her. We hear Sally say from the other room "stop pinching me." Bobby breaks the tension by saying he loves sweet potatoes.
Don has a lady caller on Thanksgiving. A hooker. She's in a hurry for dinner with her family. He's used her before and she apparently knows what he likes, which is to hit him, hard and often in the face.
Later, the hooker answers Don's phone and it's Peggy.She needs $280 for bail. She explains that the actress who was hit pressed charges. So it's 80 for bail and 100 each to keep their mouths shut. Don is livid. She comes to pick up the money. He reads her the riot act saying that the idea wasn't funny or cute and she should've run it by him. He asks if she wants people to think they're idiots. The man with her takes exception to the way Don is talking to her. When he asks who she is he says he's her fiance Mark. As Don shuts the door Peggy looks at him and asks "fiance? He says it just came out.
Henry and Betty go to bed and start getting it on. She hears a noise. It's Sally in the hall calling daddy to wish him a happy Thanksgiving. Betty accuses of her of calling to complain and to not expect any sympathy when Don hears Betty's side of the story. She gets back in bed. Henry suggests having Carla take the baby while the kids are with Don and he and Betty going for a drive to a nice dinner. Henry says he's too full to carry on now and they go to sleep.
Don arrives to pick up the kids. Betty says to have them back by 9 o'clock tomorrow night. He wants to see the baby but Carla already has him. He says a curt hello to Henry. They depart. Henry and Betty get it on in the car in the garage.
The kids get in bunk beds at Don's place. He turns off the light and looks at them
The next day as the kids watch Don's blurry TV, he works. He brings them back but. no one's home. He cools his heels until Henry and Betty return, closer to 10. She says she's waited for him plenty of times. He asks when they're moving out since it was supposed to be a month ago. He tells her she needs to do as they agreed or he has to collect rent. Henry takes exception saying this is only temporary. Don snits back "believe me everybody thinks this is temporary." After Don leaves, Henry says Don is right they need to move and Betty isn't even looking. She says she doesn't want to uproot the kids and Don doesn't get to decide.
Peggy arrives with a ham for Don. Sugarberry was so happy with the new campaign they sent one for everybody. Don points out that they could've fired them. Peggy says they didn't and says Don now has the pleasure of telling them what they did and thinks they'll be impressed. Don says he isn't and he tries to stay away from these shenanigans. Peggy says it was going great until it wasn't. She apologizes for not telling him. He asks after the fiancee and if she brought so Don wouldn't embarrass her. She says she was trying to think ahead. Not far enough, thinks Don. He says she needs to think more about the image of the firm. She points out that since no one knows about the ham stunt the firm's image is right where he left it in Ad Age. He says he won't need her at the Janzen presentation. She accuses him of being spiteful. He says he just doesn't want a girl in the room. As she leaves she tells him "we are all here because of you, all we want to do is please you."
Henry is helping his mother clean up after Thanksgiving and apologizes for Sally. His mother says the children are clearly terrified of Betty. She says she knows what he sees in her but wonders why he just didn't get it for free and calls Betty a silly woman. She asks Henry how he can stand living in another man's dirt.
Don gives his speech to the Jantzen guys. The artwork shows a black redacted bar going across the top of the model wearing a bikini with the slogan "so well built we can't show the second floor" written on it. Unsurprisingly the prudish Jantzen people don't like that it's suggestive. Don says it's a wink, not a leer and it will make a competitor seem crude and get customers into the store. They say it's not wholesome. Don says they can be comfortable and dead, or risky and rich. The Jantzen man says all he knows is that they don't want Don's ad. Don snits off. Roger goes after him and tries to calm him down saying maybe Pete can talk to them into hearing more ideas. Don says that's not the idea and goes back and kicks the Jantzen folks out, abruptly. with finger snaps. He barks at his secretary to call Bert Cooper's man at the Wall Street Journal.
He sits down with the reporter and with great relish he begins to tell the origin story of SCDP saying when the moment came he realized "I could die of boredom or holster up my guns... within a year we had taken over three floors of the Time Life building."
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