I am missing Mad Men. The other day I was thinking about the scene from the finale of first season where Don is doing his presentation to the folks from Kodak about his take on their new product- the Carousel slide projector.....it is the series at its finest.
Don Draper: Well, technology is a glittering lure. But, uh, there is the rare occasion when the public can be engaged on a level beyond flash, if they have a sentimental bond with the product.
My first job, I was in-house at a fur company, with this old-pro copywriter, a Greek named Teddy. Teddy told me the most important idea in advertising is new. Creates an itch. You simply put your product in there as a kind of calamine lotion.
But he also talked about a deeper bond with the product. Nostalgia. It’s delicate, but potent. (lights switch off-slideshow with Don Draper's family begins)
Teddy told me that in Greek, “nostalgia” literally means “the pain from an old wound”.
It’s a twinge in your heart far more powerful than memory alone.
This device isn’t a spaceship, it’s a time machine.
It goes backwards, forwards,takes us to a place where we ache to go again.
It’s not called the wheel. It’s called the carousel.
It let's us travel the way a child travels - around and around, and back home again, to a place where we know are loved.
To truly appreciate the presentation you probably have to know the character, but it is pretty powerful either way. The following is a link to the scene- see for yourself.....
I feel so left out! We don't have a TV (one of our resolutions this year is to finally get one!)and I've been hearing a lot about this Mad Men and ugh! I can't wait to start watching it. Totally getting the DVD.
ReplyDeleteI miss it too... my favorite is when he comes to beg Peggy to come and work at his new agency and says "I will spend the rest of my life trying to hire you"...
ReplyDeleteI always play that moment in my head when I see a projector! It was well done!
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