I am a big fan of the AMC cable series Mad Men. I like the show’s accuracy in depicting the style, the attitude, and the persona of the era. Being in advertising, I like the storylines specific to the business — clients, creative inspiration, and how management works. Sometimes the show does get a bit slow, but what I really enjoy is the writing and the little gems that come out of the show’s dialogue, particularly from the main character, Don Draper. Draper is fictional New York agency Sterling Cooper’s stellar creative director. He is also the stud of the show. (Darn. Why can’t account guys be the studs?) His comments aren’t unique or earth shattering, but to me they are well delivered reminders of what makes this crazy business interesting and why I think I stay in it.

Here is just a sampling of my favorite Draperisms.

• “There has to be advertising for people who don’t have a sense of humor.”
• “Part of this job is doing things you don’t want to do.”
• “Young campaigns don’t necessarily come from young people.”
• “Clients don’t understand. Their success is related to standing out, not fitting in. One wants to be the needle in the haystack, not a haystack.”
• “There’s life and there’s work.”
• On the idea that sex sells: “Just so you know, the people who talk that way think that monkeys can do this. And they take all this monkey crap and just stick it in a briefcase, completely unaware that their success depends on something more than their shoeshine. You are the product. You, feeling something. That’s what sells. Not them. Not sex. They can’t do what we do and they hate us for it.”
• Draper to his administrative assistant: “You do not cover for me. You manage people’s expectations.”
• On presenting a controversial prime time TV show to a conservative client: “Controversy means viewers. Women will find a way to watch this. Maybe just because they don’t want to get left out. It’s catharsis. That’s hard to come by. There are limits to what you get from daytime.”
• On showing only one concept for a new business pitch: “I don’t care if we are just selling a point of view, but we have to commit to one thing. They don’t like wiggle room. They like to see us blowing up bridges behind us.”
• On the creative team showing different elements of a campaign: “We’ve got a lot of bricks, but I don’t know what the building looks like.”
• On a heart-to-heart meeting with the head of accounts: “You’re pitching more to me than you have to clients. You’ve been selling their ideas to me more than mine to them.”
• After an impressive idea is not used — but is loved — by the client: “I think we bought a couple of years of security. If they ever decide they want to go that way, they know we can do it.”

Maybe you have favorite Draperisms or lines from the other characters. Please feel free to share.

You can find out more about Mad Men here.

Tags: Advertising, AMC, Creative Director, Don Draper, Mad Men, Sterling Cooper