One thing is made abundantly clear in the first episode of Mad Men. Everyone smoked during the 60's. People loved smoking. Men, women, hell even Doctor's smoked while with their patients. We follow Don Draper who works with Sterling Cooper in New York City. He is an advertising man.
The episode starts with Draper asking a waiter why he smokes the cigarettes he does. He tells him that the Army used to supply the cigarettes for free. When asked if those cigarettes happened to disappear what would he do, the man simply says that he would find another brand because he loves smoking. Soon after we find Don in bed with a woman. She is not his wife, or girlfriend. After sleeping together, Don says that they should get married but she retorts and tells him she has a strict policy of not making plans and not cooking breakfast in the morning. After this small character introduction the plot finally moves forward.
Don is in charge of advertising for Lucky Strike cigarettes. Prior to the episode, the company was making plenty of cash advertising that cigarettes were not harmful, as they had testimonials from doctors proclaiming that smoking would not lead to any serious disease. Obviously it was only a matter of time before this proved to be false. After a string of Reader's Digest articles, advertising companies were in a panic because there was no possible way to market cigarettes without having the negative connotations. This is where Don comes in. He is supposed to be the one with the solution to all of these. Despite being presented with different ideas, like Freudian principles(the concept that people will do things because they have a Death Wish), Draper remains with no ideas. The idea he ultimately comes up with is so simple that its actually scary. If I were to equate it to something, it would be to how every food product now has to be "organic" in order to be different. It's a scary thought that something so simple can cause people to purchase more. I suppose that is the glory of advertising. It's strictly a manipulation.
I really enjoy the feel of this show. Despite never living during the 60's I feel as though everything is accurate. The production team clearly invested time in making sure everything was authentic to the time. The most interesting aspect of this show is the atmosphere this first episode sets up. Despite the very small amount of drama this episode presents, the script is so well written that seeds for potential dramatic moments have been sewn into the seams of the shows foundation. For example ending the film with Draper returning home to his wife is just one of the many moments this show has to offer.
On a side note, this show has been on the air for almost five years now, and some how I managed to avoid any amount of information pertaining to the story. I am happy for this. I can already predict there will be plenty of drama just based on this episode. I say bring it on.
9/10 Muffins
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