Still on Season One But

Don Draper embodies that era's idea of Cool, the professional man who could almost pass for a member of the Rat Pack. And that version of Cool definitely included laughing through your cig as you drank your liver away, and having a massive heart attack before sixty.

If you can't wrap your head around the idea that people of earlier times thought differently than we do now, then perhaps this series is not for you. Because not only do you have to understand something about the early 1960s to appreciate the early seasons of the show, you have to appreciate the changes that came with the late 1960s and early 1970s as the show progresses. The show isn't mindless entertainment, it demands something of the viewer.

Don’t ever expect Don to be a hero. He’s an anti-hero, a very flawed character who is a philanderer, absent father, heavy drinker and smoker, and a hardass with his colleagues and staff. His advertising skills are typical for that the era and target the early 1960s white suburbanite consumers. The ads look folksy in comparison to what we see now, but they are near copies of ads from those days. Also, Don is famous not just for his print ads but his entire ad strategy campaigns. For example, his Heineken beer product placement test at local markets, his remodel designs for Menken’s store.

Throughout the series they give flashbacks on Don’s youth which give some context to the roots of all his vices. There are also several episodes where Don goes to California where he reveals a more genuine version of himself. While you may never like Don, you may find yourself rooting for him in spite of everything. He has some big redeeming moments - such as his mentoring of Peggy and caring friendship with Anne Draper.

Personally I didn't really like it until season 4.

Otter is correct: "The show isn't mindless entertainment, it demands something of the viewer."


All the best TV shows do and this is my second favorite of all time, I loved it from minute one...

The writing on this show is unparalleled. There are hilarious bits in every episode. By season two I was fully invested. Don is a scumbag and never really changes much. He’s a terrible person. Most of them are because they are all drunks.

You'll discover that's actually the point and you are 100% correct with your thoughts. Don is a sheister and a master at selling nothing but himself. Between that, his looks, and confidence, the world just opens up to him. He's a man's man in a man's man world. But he does very little actual work, but somehow fools everyone into thinking he's a genius.

A big part of the show is that Don's "cool" is all facade - not unlike the vapid ads he works on - and the whole thing is about him flailing around looking for happiness and meaning in all the wrong places - also like the advertising world.

I know a lot of people took the wrong message from Don, but I love the show while knowing he's no role model. It has sharp writing, a great visual style, and I think the journey he - and other characters - have struggling for meaning is a great one.

Oh, and here's an article about "It's toasted," a real-life Lucky Strike campaign. You might not have thought it was that hot, but it worked in the actual history of advertising, so somebody thought it was toasty enough.

This is one of those dreaded shows they make jokes about, "it doesn't pay off till the 20th season, hang in there!" lol The entire show is a very slow burn. You either like the formula or you don't. It absolutely fires on all cylinders by season four. But if you're not liking all the characters and the soap opera drama that their lives are embroiled in, than this show definitely isn't for you. This is a show about character growth (or regression), atmosphere, and examining the morals and culture of a past era through the lens of a modern era. And it if you're not liking it, you might truly just not be in the right mind set for it. It may resonate with you down the road.