TOP 10 WOMEN OF 'MAD MEN'

The 1960s may have been an ad man's world, but they would've been nothing without these lovely ladies!

TOP 10 MOST MEMORABLE 'MAD MEN' SCENES

Pour yourself a stiff drink and light up a cigarette 'cause those are the perfect accompaniments for watching this AMC classic.

TOP 10 INSANE 'MAD MEN' MOMENTS

These scenes made us drop our Old Fashioneds because they were so unbelievable!

YESTERDAY'S HEADLINES TODAY - VOL. 654

Rand's Sad Tale of Two Filibusters

Miss Uncongeniality: Why Hillary's press strategy could backfire

Obama, ISIS, and the Writing on the Wall

The "trigger-happy generation" a passive-aggressive stalking horse for thought police

Tales of Two Social Scientists

Stop Surrogacy Now: Why We Must Unite

Irish gay "marriage" vote: 'It's us who now face intolerance', say 'No' campaigners

Fascism in Ireland: Election official removes crucifix from parish hall

'Game of Thrones' Fans Shouldn't Leave Because of Sansa Stark's Rape

Even Advertising Can Say Something Real

YESTERDAY'S HEADLINES TODAY - VOL. 650

NYT: Banned from State Dept, Clinton Foundation crony advised Hillary on Libya anyway - while pursuing business there; Update: Another e-mail lie

How Did Clinton Conflict of Interest Schemes Work? Ask Sidney...

Surprise: Clinton Foundation got millions in Big Labor money - as "political" activity

Walker touts Wisconsin's education reforms

Boston University Professor Cited for Racist Tweets Accused of Bashing White Rape Victim

The Fall of Ramadi

Why Moms and Dads Both Matter in Marriage

I Don't Need No Daddy

'Mad Men' Ends: Finding Happiness In Advertising

Britney Spears and Iggy Azalea Embrace Complementarity

DON DRAPER'S MOMENTS OF MARKETING WISDOM

Don Draper Moments of Marketing Wisdom by Glow New Media

MAD MEN REVIEW: "TO HAVE AND TO HOLD"

In this episode we finally touched base with some of the other main characters in the show, particularly Joan and Harry.

We found out that Scarlett (played by Jersey girl Sadie Alexandru) is now working as Harry's secretary.  She talked Dawn into punching out for her at the end of the day so that she could go shopping for a gift.  Joan discovered what Scarlett had been up to and confronted her.  Shortly after that, Joan abruptly fired Scarlett and told her to pack her stuff and leave.  The next time we see Scarlett, she's in her coat and crying, on her way out.

Enter Harry Crane.

When Harry lands this huge TV special that is both big money and hilarious (Joe Namath on Broadway), he demands recognition.  He managed to make money for the firm while making a very important client - Dow Chemical - a little happier about things.  Dow's problem?  They make napalm.  While napalm was nothing new in 1968 (it was, after all, the chemical used in the flamethrowers that were essential to American G.I.s fighting the Japanese in World War II) but now it's getting loads of bad press for its use in Vietnam.  So Harry comes up with an idea for Dow to be the primary sponsor of a comedy hour featuring Namath.  The premise is that the fine folks at Dow are responsible for making people smile and laugh.

The pitch that Harry made to Dow was the result of a conversation between he and Ken, who is the son-in-law of one of Dow's honchos.  Scarlett brings Harry his danish and when Harry tells Ken that he as an idea for Dow, Scarlett cheerfully says on the way out of the room, "Harry has lots of great ideas."  Mad Men is always so great about providing hints of plot lines with a minimum of words.  I think with that one line from Scarlett, viewers everywhere had the same thought: Harry and Scarlett!  Of course, Harry is married with children but hey, this is Mad Men...

So when Harry returns to the office with Ken after the successful pitch to Dow and encounters a tearful Scarlett on her way out, stuff packed in a box, he goes ballistic.  He marches her to Joan's office and informs Joan that he's tired of her "petty dictatorship" and that she had no right to fire his secretary.

At first I thought Harry's over-the-top anger was due to his feelings for Scarlett.  If they aren't romantic feelings then at the very least he feels protective of her.  But while that's still very likely, it quickly became obvious that the firing of Scarlett was simply a skirmish in a larger conflict between Harry and Joan.

We don't know how he knows, but Harry has obviously heard about what Joan did to get her partnership.  Like the rest of us, he's not cool with it.  But rather than feel sorry for Joan, who felt she had no choice but to take the only path offered to her, Harry feels that she prostituted herself and he's not sympathetic.  

He also feels, not without reason, that she benefited from a situation that was not open to him.  He feels unappreciated for everything he's done for the firm.  The television department, which he created as a one-man operation within Sterling, Cooper back in Season 2, is an important source of revenue for the firm and Harry can't be blamed for feeling like his contributions to the well-being of the firm deserve more credit than what Joan did.  Some have dismissed Harry's value by pointing out that he's simply riding the TV wave.  That's certainly true but it was Harry who recognized early on the value of television.  He spotted the trend, created his department and is now reaping the rewards.  That's the way it works.

Also, Joan has been belittling him for years now, ever since he failed to acknowledge her talent when she was helping him with his work (reading scripts to make sure there are no conflicts between the material and the sponsors).  We saw how good Joan was at this type of thing but Harry did not.  So when he was finally allowed to hire an assistant, he hired some new guy with no experience.  Joan was forced to go back to being the de facto office manager.  No promotion for her, and no recognition.  

So, after blasting Joan over the Scarlett situation, Harry decides to push things further by barging into a partners meeting and demanding that he be given a partnership as well.  He lets them all know that he knows what she did for the partnership and Joan has to just sit there and take it.  She may be a partner but because she's a woman and because she got there in a sketchy way, she discovers that she is still not their equal.  At least she's not equal in their eyes.  The partners decide that it's not wise to fire Dawn and that Scarlett's humiliation is punishment enough.  Thus Joan has, effectively, been overruled and put in her place.  It's hard.

But if Harry's rant was somewhat inappropriate and obnxious, so was Joan's behavior towards Scarlett.  Joan has an office.  She could have summoned Scarlett to her office and reprimanded her there.  Instead, she confronted Scarlett at her desk, out in the open, humiliating her.  Then she yelled at her, again out in the open, and fired her.  If Joan were a man and acted like that people would be upset, right? Also, even though Joan is a partner she should have waited to speak to Harry first and let him know what happened and what she wants to do about it.  He at least should have been given an opportunity to weigh in on the problem.  In other words, Joan could have handled it better.

It's after this trying day that Joan goes with her friend Kate for a night on the town that includes a visit to the Electric Circus.  The next day Kate encourages Joan to ignore what the men think.  Whatever she wants is right there for her to take.  Kate envies and admires her.  Joan decides to enhance her status by shedding some of her old responsibilities (giving the keys to the supply closet and supervision of time cards to Dawn).

Harry had a meeting with Bert and Roger, who are unwilling to be bullied into giving him a partnership.  But they do acknowledge and reward his initiative by handing him a check for $23,000. It's his commission for the Dow Chemical TV show and it's more than his annual salary.  It's a big payday for him.  But he lets them know that if he gets a better offer from another firm that he will leave.  Time will tell.

IF YOU DON'T LIKE WHAT THEY'RE SAYING...

In which Peggy steals a line she learned from Don.  I love the line and the idea behind it.  "If you don't like what they're saying, change the conversation."   

Advertising, ultimately, is all about communicating ideas.  Changing the conversation means more than merely shifting the focus from one subject to another.  You hear that accusation made all the time when having a political debate. "Now you're changing the subject!!!" Yes, it can be taken as a sign that somebody is losing an argument.  

But beyond that, however, is the idea that if you want to win a messaging war then you first must pick your battles.  Picking your battles includes selecting the right place (in real terms) or the right subject (in rhetorical terms) in which to have the conversation.  In other words, don't let the other side maneuver you into an area where they have the advantage.  Make sure you are the one maneuvering them.

Don't accuse others of things you can't prove or that they can defend easily.  Avoid using words and assumptions that can blow up in your face.  Use their words against them and give them no opportunity to successfully defend themselves.  Make them run away from their own position and that's how you win.
    

MAD MEN MUSIC: "BONNIE AND CLYDE"

This is the song that was playing during the scene in the episode "To Have and to Hold" in which Joan and her friend Kate are enjoying themselves at the Electric Circus nightclub, located in the East Village.  

Interestingly, this is the same neighborhood that Betty visited in the season opener while looking for her daughter's friend.  That visit highlighted the pathetic squalor of hippie wannabes who were really nothing more than druggies squatting in abandoned buildings in one of the city's poorest neighborhoods.  

The Electric Circus, however, was a very popular destination in 1968, with the gritty working class neighborhood adding extra spice to the experience for trendy visitors.

The people playing Bonnie and Clyde in the video are Brigitte Bardot and the songwriter, Serge Gainsbourg.

One interesting thing that I discovered while searching Electric Circus is this Village Voice article dated July 6, 1967 in which famed New York City columnist Jack Newfield reported on the club's opening night festivities. In it he writes:

By 10 p.m., the scheduled opening time, there was a line of people on St. Mark's Place a half-block long, populated by a variety of Beautiful People types who probably never had to stand on line for anything before in their lives. The cavalcade of rented limousines curled back around Third Avenue, an illusory boon to the area's wizened panhandlers. Across the street several hundred locals -- hippies and East Europeans -- stood behind police barriers. Four costumed karate experts slowly shepherded the customers -- $15 a head -- in, two by two, just like the ark. And downstairs, welterweight fighter Joe Shaw, the lonely bouncer in the almost vacant Dom, watched the exploding flashbulbs silhouette the karate choppers in their clean white robes, a symbol of faddist passions of the Electronic Age.

Inside, people danced, sweated, pushed and blinked. The few Linear Conceptualizers quit immediately. There was the Poet of Pop, Tom Wolfe, and the Fugs's Tuli Kupferberg, and novelist Mary McCarthy, and Kennedy-in-law Steve Smith, and folk-singer David Blue, and halfback George Plimpton. It looked like the cover of the next Beatles' album. The New Frontier met the Underground, while the Beautiful People kept score.

I highlighted the "two by two, just like the ark" line because I know that Matthew Weiner and his crew must have read this article while doing their own research.  I can't help but wonder if they got the idea for the title and theme of the subsequent episode, "The Flood," from this article.  One never knows where the next inspiration will come from.

There are groovy vintage photos of the Electric Circus and the people who partied there here and here.

MAD MEN REVIEW: "COLLABORATORS"

Sunday afternoon I had a thought that perhaps we'd seen the last of Dr. Rosen.  That idea was either going to be 100% right or 100% wrong.  It was the latter.  Oh well!

But when it comes to my earlier interpretations of Don and Sylvia's relationship I have been partially vindicated and the jury is still out for the rest.  The line "I want to stop doing this" was not explained in Sunday night's episode.  But it is now obvious that Don has no interest in ending the affair.  Indeed, he doesn't feel the least bit guilty about his infidelity.  So the conventional wisdom of the professional reviewers has proven to be wrong.

We still don't know how the relationship began or exactly how long it has been going on but we did learn a bit more about the dynamics of it.  I guess it's because "the maid's quarters" is so far out of my life experience it never occurred to me that the bedroom scene I focused on last week was not, in fact, Sylvia's but the maid's.  The crucifix on the wall and the praying Virgin both belong to the maid.   

Perhaps I should have guessed that because despite my description, the actual first item we saw as the camera panned to the bed was an iron.  Nevertheless, Sylvia is a Roman Catholic which, although not said out loud, did come up during a crucial conversation between Sylvia and Megan.  Don's wife suddenly confesses to his lover that she was six weeks pregnant before having a miscarriage two days earlier.



Sylvia's reaction provides a clue as to where her mind is at regarding Don.  She's jealous when presented with evidence that Don was making love to Megan while on the trip to Hawaii.  It's an indication that her feelings for Don are stronger than perhaps she realized and that she was misled as to the true status of Don's marriage.  

This all came out a little later when the planned dinner between the two couples was disrupted by Megan, who decided to stay home because she wasn't feeling well, and Dr. Rosen, who was conveniently called away by the hospital.  When it was just Don and Sylvia she questioned Don about the fact that he had told her he and Megan were drifting apart.  This "drifting apart" was clearly part of Don's excuse for infidelity in the first place.  We still don't know exactly what has motivated Sylvia to be unfaithful to her husband.

Don deflected her criticism with skill and told her exactly what he wanted and what he was going to do - and we saw it unfolding through a couple of jump cuts.  After the dinner they are back in the maid's room.  Sylvia admits that her attitude stemmed from jealousy and she apologized, saying she had no right to feel that way.  She also warned that they can't fall in love.  It wouldn't be "French" anymore.

But if she is feeling jealous of Megan and he is becoming ever more reluctant to even step through the door of his apartment out of dread at once again entering into the masquerade of a marriage, then it's clear to me that the fling is slowly morphing into something more serious.  They had their first little fight and the makeup sex was very good. That's a couples activity, not a casual hookup.

It seems that the pact between them to this point is that they're simply having some naughty fun, justified by unhappy or unfulfilling marriages.  Sylvia was a little surprised at how casual Don is regarding the four of them being together in a social setting.  "They're good company," Don says.  As far as I can tell, the only time that Don is happy these days is when he is with Sylvia.  The question remains: is it based on real feelings for her or is the "eros" he mentioned in the season opener simply an addiction that he needs to satisfy?

The fundamental question about Don Draper and his relationships with women is this: Is Don capable of being truly happy in a committed relationship with a woman?  Or will he always be dissatisfied with the relationship and, thus, always be unfaithful?  Is he on the hunt for a woman that will truly make him a whole, happy person?  Or is he like the scorpion, who does what he does because it's simply his nature?

MATTHEW WEINER'S "OLIVER STONE" MOMENT

I am a devoted fan of Mad Men.  I'm not such a fan of showrunner Matthew Weiner.  In addition to Mad Men, Weiner is associated with one of my other all-time favorite television dramas, The Sopranos.  The brilliance of the work helps me to overlook the fact that Weiner is also a typical Hollyweird liberal, with all the biases and ignorance that it entails.

The incident occurred on April Fool's Day last year during the second episode of Season 5, entitled Tea Leaves.  In the episode, Betty's husband, Henry Francis, a political operative who used to work for Nelson Rockefeller but who is now working for NYC's Republican mayor, John Lindsay, tells someone on the phone, "Well, tell Jim his honor's not going to Michigan. Romney's a clown, and I don't want him standing next to him."

This, of course, was a reference to Governor George Romney of Michigan.  It was like a bolt of lightning that hits the ground, visible for a split second and then over.  There were no further references to Romney during the episode or the season.  The next morning, Mitt Romney's oldest son, Tagg, tweeted the family displeasure at the dig at his grandfather, who died in 1995.

"Seriously, lib media mocking my dead grandpa?" Tagg wrote. Moments later, he added in a second tweet, "George Romney was as good a man I've ever known. Inspirational leader, worked for civil rights, promoted freedom. We need more like him."

When questioned, AMC's spokeswoman Marnie Black said the incident was based on historical information. "Lindsay and Romney were known political rivals," she said.

Fast forward to Weiner's April 4th interview with CNN's Jake Tapper.

"I pick up a "Newsweek" from that year, and George Romney is the frontrunner," says Weiner. "And Lindsay is someone who, as the Republican Jack Kennedy, they’re all trying to get an endorsement from. He’s trying to take pictures with all of the candidates who are about to run. And they’re trying to take pictures with him. And I know for a fact that there was a decision not to take a picture with George Romney, because he...did not have the same political leanings as Lindsay." 

And that's where Weiner gets it wrong.  Deliberately wrong.  Romney and Lindsay were potential rivals for the GOP nomination in 1968 but they were both from the moderate wing of the party.  Weiner is implying that since Lindsay was moderate and his flunkie Henry calls Romney a "clown" that therefore Romney must be ultra conservative, which he wasn't.  The line (which is an insult, not "criticism") is accurate but only in the sense that they were rival contenders, not because of an ideological schism.

This is why I call it an "Oliver Stone" moment.  Weiner is rewriting history to suit his own political viewpoint.  That's exactly the kind of thing for which Stone is notorious.  If there was an ulterior motive on Weiner's part with regards to the 2012 election it would be to deny Mitt Romney whatever benefits he might have accrued if Mad Men viewers were reminded that his father was very much a moderate Republican, indeed hostile to the Goldwater-Reagan wing of the GOP.

But since Weiner wants to hide behind the history, fine, let's talk some history. On May 23, 1966 (five weeks before the telephone conversation depicted in the episode), Rockefeller shocked the political press when he bowed out of national politics "completely and forever, without reservation" and passed the moderate mantle to Romney - not Lindsay - during a joint appearance at Long Island's Garden City Hotel.

The move was part of a deal with Senator Jacob Javits: in exchange for not challenging him in the 1966 gubernatorial primary, Rockefeller would back him as Romney’s 1968 running mate. Romney was apparently surprised but delighted with the endorsement.  Lindsay, of course, resented this, hence the hostility displayed by his flunkie, Henry Francis.



In typical Rockefeller fashion, he set about putting all of New York’s Republican political muscle behind Romney: money, research and campaign aides. In all likelihood, the person on the phone that Henry Francis yelled at was a Rockefeller aide.  By mid-November the Harris poll had Romney beating Lyndon Johnson 54 to 46; nobody else in the GOP (including the "Republican Kennedy" John Lindsay) came close to that.  One of the aides Rockefeller donated to Romney was a foreign policy wonk named Henry Kissinger. 

Rockefeller and Lindsay (who prior to his 1965 mayoral victory had been the representative in Congress of Manhattan's so-called "Silk Stocking District") never had a particularly good relationship and it would get progressively worse as the years went by.  So it is in the small world of New York Republicans.  Think of the 1990s and Governor George Pataki, Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Senator Al D'Amato if you want to get an idea of what GOP rivalries look like in the Empire State.

George Romney

In July of '66 it's entirely plausible that an aide to John Lindsay would refer to George Romney, a Mormon who lacked a college degree, as a "clown."  Lindsay, an Episcopalian, was an elitist snob.  A product of preppy boarding schools, Yale University and Yale Law School, he was, despite being a Republican, a classic "limousine liberal."  He was overly paternalistic towards minorities while being completely indifferent (sometimes hostile) to the white working class in the city, particularly those living in the outer boroughs.  It was this bad attitude that would help to make his time in the mayor's office such a dismal failure.

You can read all about Romney's career and political record here.  George Romney was everything that Weiner praised in the Republicans of the mid-1960s.  And yet he deliberately chose to ignore that indisputable fact and subtly gave the opposite impression.  In my opinion the interview is much worse than the "clown" line in the episode.  Technically speaking, the line in the script is plausible, just not for the reason Weiner wanted viewers to think.  But his smugness in the interview combined with his Stone-like distortion of George Romney's politics is unforgivable.  

Nevertheless, I do love the show.  The showrunner?  Not so much...

Romney (in shirtsleeves) marching with the NAACP in Detroit