Pitches, Bitches: 3 Ways Mad Men Made Agencies Everywhere Jealous
Put out your Lucky Strike and pass on that pre-lunch bourbon: On Sunday, May 17th, Don, Peggy, Joan, Roger, Pete and the rest will take one last glide across the small screen—bringing with them the end of one of the most compelling shows on television.
Through the lens of a New York ad agency, we witnessed the evolution of the marketing industry AND watched each complex, flawed character struggle through enormous changes in society and culture.
More than killer costumes, impressive amounts of day drinking and shameless philandering, Mad Men showed us how women’s lib helped our grandmothers go from secretaries to copy chiefs, how grown men reacted to the moon landing and how one well-placed “WHAT?” could own the room.
It also raised the pitch game to “Level: Don Draper.” Here are three of the moments that made marketers everywhere jealous and some ways you can steal his mojo for your next client meeting.
The Carousel
“This technology isn’t a spaceship—it’s a time machine.”
Let’s get it out of the way early: Carousel was the show’s best pitch and a creative game-changer, even by today’s standards. It was elegant, personal and nostalgic—bringing everyone in the room back to a time in their life they wanted to remember.
The Takeaway: Go beyond
This pitch focused in on a big truth that resonated with every person in the room, which is exactly what any successful campaign should do. Rather than pander to the client’s need for the product to be called “The wheel,” Sterling Cooper went further with their creative and tapped into something much deeper and much more compelling than technology.
Belle Jolie
“The gift of total ownership.”
An alternate title for this episode could have been “Don’s Swagger Saves the Day,” but that would have missed the bigger point. This pitch WAS rescued from death because of Don’s bravado, but only because the idea was so great, to begin with. While the men behind the one-way glass were having a sexist field day (#gross), Peggy honed in on a nugget of creative wisdom that made the campaign. That wisdom, that women want choices not because they want to be 1 of 100, but because they are unique, was what really saved the day.
The Takeaway: Solve a new problem
Like The Carousel, one takeaway from this pitch is to go deeper with your idea and see if there are alternate ways of looking at the same problem. That said, the most striking thing about this pitch is its ability to solve a new problem. One that the client didn’t even know he had. His sales were down, but his product was good and it was diverse. He was so sure of his idea of what people liked about his business, but what he really needed was a come-to-Jesus moment. Don gave him that by selling this good idea, and women everywhere started to mark their man as a result.
Lucky Strike
Dejected and scrambling because of the recent passing of the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act, the executives at Lucky Strike were worried. Tobacco was now linked to cancer, and there were now a LOT of rules surrounding how they could talk about their product, specifically related health and cigarettes. In typical Don fashion, he saves Pete’s weaksauce pitch with a mic drop of a realization: The playing field has been leveled.
The Takeaway: Find an inroad
When one path is blocked by an immovable obstacle, do you sit down in the road and wait to die? Nope. You find another way. And that’s exactly what the Sterling Cooper team did. They found an opportunity in the obstacle and used that the win the client back. Next time you’re faced with a scramble, see the ladder in the chaos and climb it to a better idea.
Sunday just won’t be the same without this weekly dose of entertaining inspiration. The lessons learned in the halls of Sterling Cooper taught generations of marketers what it means to be a creative professional and managed to take the idea of #agencylife to a whole new level.
Bonus: Mohawk
“You want me to take your watch?”
He asked for a last-minute campaign to save his butt, she took full advantage of the situation.