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February, 1962

Started by tomwatson · 11 months ago

It is particularly tempting for me to relish the details of style and fact embedded in the non-drama that unfolds Sunday evenings as Mad Men, particularly in this new second season launch tonight. The ad boys return on Valentine’s Day, 1962 - exactly a week before my arrival in the New York suburbs of that [...] ... Continue reading »

51 comments

  • clairehelene7

    11 months ago

    I'm sure after the first couple I'll pass out from being hit over the head so hard.
    reply
  • MaPeel

    11 months ago

    NOOO--Pepsi is from 1903. I had no idea it was that old
    reply
  • Thirteen1031

    11 months ago

    Pepsi wasn't new, as you've learned, but (and perhaps you already know all this, but hey, indulge me!) this is one of those layers and nuisances that makes the show so glorious. First, remember that for someone like Dan Draper, a depression era kid, sodas were special. They may have only cost a penny, but a kid rarely had that penny and when they did, it was precious. If they had the money, parents bought much needed milk, not indulgent soda for their kids to drink. By the 50's however, that age of prosperity, the kids were taking sodas for granted; they had the money to buy one anytime they wanted one. These "kids" that they're taking about in the episode are the sort who were raised on soda, not milk, and pour it on their cereal. It implies that they take for granted what Draper sees as a special. Further, soda at that time was seen as a kid's drink and coffee an adult drink. When a kid was given coffee rather than milk or soda, he/she was an adult.. To pour soda on their cereal emphasizes that these "kids" refuse to grow up.

    Also (and, once again, here's the wonder of this show, that this one line has so many layers), Pepsi had started a new campaign in the 60's making itself hip and, yes, youthful. In fact, it beat out Coke because of it. It was the drink of a "new generation." That was the ad slogan. And the ad campaign involved things like pop art to make it more hip. In fact, your googling didn't go far enough, because the title of this episode comes from, yes, Pespi. To quote:

    "1961: Pepsi further refines its target audience, recognizing the increasing importance of the younger, post-war generation. "Now it's Pepsi, for those who think young" defines youth as a state of mind as much as a chronological age, maintaining the brand's appeal to all market segments.

    1962
    Pepsi receives its new logo, the sixth in Pepsi history. The "serrated" bottle cap logo debuts, accompanying the brand's groundbreaking "Pepsi Generation" ad campaign."

    By 1963, Pepsi would be telling the baby-boomers that they were the "Pepsi Generation," connecting themselves with all things young, new, vibrant and hip. All of which is probably a lot more than you wanted to know--and maybe did know, but I do adore the incredible richness of this show. One line says it all.
    reply
  • MaPeel

    11 months ago

    Thanks Thirteen, I do find this interesting. I completely forget about the "Pepsi Generation," which was still around in the seventies, when I heard it. Of course I didn't realize the import of that slogan. Poor Don Draper--he is so not part of the drink of a "new generation."
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  • jameswolcott

    11 months ago

    Sterling Cooper, still Madison Avenue's laziest ass ad agency. I'm still trying to determine the source of stress in Draper's worklife, considering the office's snail pace.
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  • clairehelene7

    11 months ago

    Yes, he even doesn't have to cover for his poverty-stricken past anymore.
    reply
  • tomwatson

    11 months ago

    It's the ennui, man - the ennui!
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  • MaPeel

    11 months ago

    I happen to know that not too long ago, Jackie's tour of the White House was one of the top programs requested at The Museum of Television & Radio--

    Nice connecting conceit here, just like the Seinfeld episode when Will and Jack kiss on the Today Show
    reply
  • thebluegirl

    11 months ago

    The elevators run up and down.

    lol. That's about as deep and meaningful as this show ever gets to me.

    Not sure how much I'll be able to participate in the live blogging tonight. I have to watch it downstairs and run upstairs to comment.

    Now, if I had an elevator here and it went up and down, it might be a different story.

    Have fun, guys! I fall into the Wolcott camp on this show. Don't really like it, but I'll be watching.

    Sigh.

    p.s. I had to register as "thebluegirl" cuz "bluegirl" was already taken. Waaaa?
    reply
  • chuck tryon

    11 months ago

    Yes, just dropping by to say that I won't be able to join in the fun this week. I'm writing the last few pages of my book tonight, so I can't afford to take a break. Hopefully I can join in the fun next time.
    reply
  • tomwatson

    11 months ago

    Hi all - how much obvious foreshadowing of later events in the series will tonight's premiere contain?
    The over/under is 46.
    reply
  • tomwatson

    11 months ago

    Horse-jumping accident
    Heart attack
    Barbiturate habit
    Freak copy machine injury

    ...to name just a few
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  • clairehelene7

    11 months ago

    I like the "freak copy machine injury"...
    reply
  • tomwatson

    11 months ago

    Certainly a body part will be copied in the near future at some office bash.
    reply
  • MaPeel

    11 months ago

    Was Pepsi new in the sixties? Must go Google
    reply
  • tomwatson

    11 months ago

    Forgetting a meeting!
    Draper's slipping to Watsonian levels of corporate competence.
    reply
  • MaPeel

    11 months ago

    "Air travel is too expensive to waste on your wife"---And we are back in top form, folks.
    reply
  • tomwatson

    11 months ago

    BTW, there was a big air crash in March, 1962 - chances we'll see that next week?
    reply
  • clairehelene7

    11 months ago

    Aren't the young guys young?
    reply
  • tomwatson

    11 months ago

    Yeah, doesn't SC already have a buncha young guys?
    reply
  • MaPeel

    11 months ago

    As though they are some "Fresh version of us"--that's a great line
    reply
  • tomwatson

    11 months ago

    The budget is obviously bigger this year. The backdrops outside the offices are photographic 3D, rather than cut off by closed blinds. Already, a location shooting with the horses.

    Of course, some NY locations would really help.
    reply
  • clairehelene7

    11 months ago

    Definitely more money.
    reply
  • clairehelene7

    11 months ago

    Nice, icky parallels hitting us over the head.
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  • MaPeel

    11 months ago

    Yike, Don is really coming apart at the seams---
    reply
  • tomwatson

    11 months ago

    Let's see if Jackie Kennedy works on ole Don....
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  • jameswolcott

    11 months ago

    Everybody's line readings are strangely timbreless. Packed in cotton padding.
    reply
  • tomwatson

    11 months ago

    18 months later - what's changed? Can anyone tell me what's changed? Don's still "on the edge." His wife is still in the throes of "existential stupid." The firm's still lousy. Sexism reigns. What is new here?
    reply
  • MaPeel

    11 months ago

    Oh my gosh, one of the Clancy brothers is applying for copywriter
    reply
  • tomwatson

    11 months ago

    Hee hee. Good one.
    reply
  • jameswolcott

    11 months ago

    Shouldn't Peggy be less robotic by now?
    reply
  • tomwatson

    11 months ago

    She so wishes she had a single golden ounce of Shirley MacLaine.
    reply
  • clairehelene7

    11 months ago

    Didn't Don push for Duck to come to the firm in the first place? I guess that's the change in 18 months.
    reply
  • MaPeel

    11 months ago

    Stepford Cooper is very strange. Well, the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers in 1956---maybe it's really Pod Peggy, Pod Don
    reply
  • MaPeel

    11 months ago

    Okay, who did say "sex sells"?
    reply
  • jameswolcott

    11 months ago

    Gallantry isn't dead, at least in the elevator.
    reply
  • tomwatson

    11 months ago

    The Esso - nice reference.
    reply
  • MaPeel

    11 months ago

    Belle du Draper in her dreams?
    reply
  • clairehelene7

    11 months ago

    Betty annoys me to no end. Partially because I think the actress is just not very good.
    reply
  • jameswolcott

    11 months ago

    That overhead shot at the mailbox must mean something--but what?
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  • MaPeel

    11 months ago

    The color of the hedges in that scene and the red of the mailbox were entering Pushing Daisies territory.
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  • tomwatson

    11 months ago

    That was so clearly a soundstage.
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  • clairehelene7

    11 months ago

    God, I think these explanations at the end to be so obnoxious. How many times do we need to be hit on the head with what happened?
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  • tomwatson

    11 months ago

    Yeah, especially "things have changed."

    Ridiculous!
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  • clairehelene7

    11 months ago

    My favorite was, "It's been 14 months and Don is older and feeling it." It's been a year and now he's 36 instead of 35. He's aging quickly. Sheesh.
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  • tomwatson

    11 months ago

    He's still haunted and searching at 36.

    Most promising new character?

    The mechanic, hands down. What's his home life like?
    reply
  • MaPeel

    11 months ago

    It seems like a crutch for Weiner. If he hasn't gotten his point across, he knows he can just tell us about them.
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  • MaPeel

    11 months ago

    Oh, we forgot to speculate who Don is sending O'Hara to--
    reply
  • tomwatson

    11 months ago

    Well, I always enjoy the encore presentation - until the clever opening credits are over. Then it's good night!
    reply
  • James S.

    11 months ago

    Did anyone read the Sunday Times biz section today?

    I think I found the year 2035 remake of "Mad Men"...

    "In depositions and court filings in the second suit — ultimately settled under undisclosed terms — Ms. Epstein and other Endeavor employees described office escapades that included rampant pot-smoking, obscene hazing at corporate retreats, sexual frolics on desks, and one agent demanding that his assistants book prostitutes for him."

    Those poor souls had no idea of the impending cultural tsunami that would totally change their world...

    Right.
    reply
  • tomwatson

    11 months ago

    Hahaha - yes, I await that cultural tsunami with great interest indeed. I may have to put my narrow ties away.
    reply
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