“Mad Men” Recap: 401, “Public Relations”
In the ensuing time between the Season 3 finale and the beginning of Season 4, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce has not only moved into swank accommodations at the Time-Life Building after a dramatic split with their British overlords, our anti-hero Don Draper has set TV advertising on fire with an ad for Glo Coat floor cleaner that looks a lot like a movie — something we all take for granted today, but when you consider how TV advertising through much of the ’50s and ’60s until the heyday of Stan Freberg was painfully on-the-nose, Draper is shaping up to be quite the revolutionary. But while he can sell a kitchen disinfectant, he seems incapable or constitutionally reluctant to sell himself: in an interview with Advertising Age, he comes off as anti-social and vapid, and the resulting article, intended to call attention to a conquering hero of Madison Avenue, paints Draper as a hollow man. His partners are not happy, and Bert Cooper gets his buddies at the Wall Street Journal on the phone.
The office dynamics are subtly different: Peggy (Elizabeth Moss) is growing into the revolutionary ad woman we suspected she would become, paying actresses to fight over a canned ham in an outer-borough grocery to build brand recognition — unlike Don, she seems well versed in the mechanics of public relations, even though she will see her stunt backfire slightly. But like Don, she seems ready to push the limits of her craft, as evidenced by the “John! Marsha!” Freberg bit that she and her new male assistant keep bandying around the office — proof that she digs the new breed.
In past seasons, Draper was more likely to kowtow to timid companies unwilling to go for the edge, but when executives at a swimwear company come in acting like the kind of milquetoast Victorians that put bloomers on piano legs, he won’t brook it. They keep insisting they are a “family company” and want a wholesome approach to selling two-piece bathing suits. Draper hits them with a print ad featuring implied nudity, and it predictably goes badly, but not only does Draper walk out, he practically runs back to give them the bum’s rush out of the office. Hell, it’s almost 1965 — get with the program, you sniveling weasels. Draper is establishing a new calling card with this: you come to SCDP if you want to win. If you’re not willing to play ball, quit taking up precious air in my office.
Elsewhere in Draperworld, it’s not so nice. Betty and her new husband Henry are having Thanksgiving with Henry’s family, and it’s basically a chamber of horrors, with the kids visibly scared out of their wits of Betty — Henry’s mother says as much later. Don is living in an apartment below his means — he wants to sell the Westchester house, but Betty is dragging her pumps on finding a new place. Even Henry tells her that Don’s in the right to insist they move out. Betty (January Jones) has never been this unsympathetic in the series’ history, and this looks to be how her character will play out. Meanwhile, Don is set up with one of Jane Sterling’s girlfriends, an extremely motivated, assertive date but one who isn’t willing to give it up for Draper unless he accedes to her schedule. She seems to have Don hooked. And speaking of hooked, Don is having a call girl over regularly to slap him around — certainly one way to deal with his guilt.
In the end, Draper goes along with the WSJ interview, and starts out with the anecdote about insisting that Pryce (Jared Harris) fire them all, and we all know this is going to make up for the desultory Ad Age piece. “Public Relations” was really one for the “Mad Men” pantheon, because even if it doesn’t set the tone for the season, it’s clear that the tone is being set for how advertising and the people who make it will evolve from here on out. A hell of a great start.
– Lang
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Comments
AV Talk was so excited about the premiere that they did a special podcast discussion about it. One of them pointed out that Henry’s mother was a complete monster, but everything she said was true. I’ll have to go back to see for myself, but I thought that was funny.
Betty was one of my favorite characters in the early days, but they’ve made her so bitter that it’s hard to sympathise with her anymore. I think they’ve kind of written themselves in a corner with her. I almost think it’s best to let her character go away for a while and re-think what they want to do with her, because she’s become fairly irrelevant to the rest of the story and her life with Henry isn’t interesting enough (yet) to follow on its own.
I’m loving the new direction of SCDP, with Don beginning a new re-invention and business-world celebrity. The new offices are amazing as a set, with all the double doors and glass. i have a good feeling about this year.
I liked the girl that Draper went out with. Steven noted that it is the same actress who played the wife of that crazy fundy dude from Fellowship of the Sun on True Blood last season.
Also, Betty may be awkward around her children, but Henry’s mother is a TOTAL monster. Ew.
I feel badly for Betty. Don was such a horrid husband, and I don’t blame her one bit for marrying a man who loves her. However, it would be great if she could find a way to make her character have some real impact on the show. She needs to stand up to stand out.