MAD MEN Final Season ~ APRIL 2015 ~

[LargoLori]

OMG!!! Thank you!! I totally didn't get the ending until now. Now I need to re-watch!!!!

 

[NotUrsula]

Hi Guys! I've followed this thread, but this is my first post.

With the show almost finished, I want to make one shallow comment.

I think I'm alone on this, but IMO everything Peggy wore during the entirety of the show went from ugly to horrid. Ugly, ugly UGLY. sometimes I even felt sorry for her. I'm now watching the marathon -the episode where the went to the awards and, man, that thing she's wearing with the green maxi and the bow...ugh

You're not alone, but it wasn't an accident; the show's costumer did that on purpose. It was supposed to help illustrate Peggy's internal disconnect and difference from the concerns of the women around her. When a woman dresses badly in that way (as opposed to trying to dress too young or too tarty, etc.), then it is a clear sign that she isn't a "typical" woman, especially in a period piece.

FWIW, variations of that particular dress design were VERY popular that year; especially for bridesmaids. My next-oldest sister had not one but three versions of it, including one that had a powder-blue crepe skirt and a white bodice, with that very same large flat bow on the front. She wore it with opera gloves, and most importantly; it was properly fitted. (In Peggy's case the garish color, poor fit and lack of long gloves was another frumpish-ness clue: no stylish woman in 1968 would have attended an evening event like that in a cap-sleeved gown without the proper gloves.)

PS: The song that arose out of the Coke ad was HUGE, everyone knew the words in 1972. I sang the revised, minus-the-mention-of-Coke version in my Jr. high-school choir. I'm not sure that previously-mentioned article was correct on the subject of it's popularity in Europe, unless they specifically meant continental Europe. "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" was a #1 hit on both the UK and Ireland pop charts in 1972, while it only reached the #7 position in the US.

 

[Patch'sD]

My thoughts of the ending are this. I give credit to the coke commercial to Peggy. In one of the prior episodes Peggy had stated she wanted to create a tag line that would be remembered. She was the only one that stuck it out on Madison Avenue, Everyone else left. Coke is the real thing would be that tag line. Don would not go back to advertising as it was frowned upon by the culture that helped him find himself. Sort of brought him full circle, it was that culture that he frowned upon in Season one when he was seeing the artist who would draw for greeting cards. Roger Sterling finally grew up. Pete the ultimate piece of crap, recoginized the importance of family and the evils of the city and it's suburbs moved to the heartland. Peggy found love and purpose, she was the only one left with drive to remain in the Ad Business.

 

[NotUrsula]

Jon Hamm did an interview with the NYTimes about his interpretation of what happened to Don, and his take is that he goes back to advertising.

I've linked the excerpted version from Vanity Fair, as it isn't firewalled. http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/05/jon-hamm-mad-men-ending-explained

A review in Forbes goes so far as to imagine the pitch meeting (http://www.forbes.com/sites/allenst...ect-harmony-coke-jingle-meaning-recap-review/)

Don enters the meeting with a big idea, a catch phrase. He starts out with a story about the spacy decorator who wanted to furnish his empty home, not with couches and lounge chairs, but with love. “But what if we really could do that…”
This delicate pitch is all about establishing a deeper bond with the product, all about salving the pain of an old wound, selling not soft drinks, but connection.
“I’d like to buy the world a Coke,” he pitches. “And keep it company.”
The lights go up, the clients cancel their next meeting, and Don Draper is once again a Superstar. A $250,000 production budget and a couple recording sessions later, the whole wide world is singing the Coke jingle. Donald Draper, Survivor, has turned his misery into something of lasting value. Or as close as you can get in the ad business.

 

[NewRVLady]

NotUrsula- love love that pattern cover!
I was sewing all my dresses back then and those bell sleeves were very IN and groovy! LOL

 

[Muushka]

You're not alone, but it wasn't an accident; the show's costumer did that on purpose. It was supposed to help illustrate Peggy's internal disconnect and difference from the concerns of the women around her. When a woman dresses badly in that way (as opposed to trying to dress too young or too tarty, etc.), then it is a clear sign that she isn't a "typical" woman, especially in a period piece.

FWIW, variations of that particular dress design were VERY popular that year; especially for bridesmaids. My next-oldest sister had not one but three versions of it, including one that had a powder-blue crepe skirt and a white bodice, with that very same large flat bow on the front. She wore it with opera gloves, and most importantly; it was properly fitted. (In Peggy's case the garish color, poor fit and lack of long gloves was another frumpish-ness clue: no stylish woman in 1968 would have attended an evening event like that in a cap-sleeved gown without the proper gloves.)

PS: The song that arose out of the Coke ad was HUGE, everyone knew the words in 1972. I sang the revised, minus-the-mention-of-Coke version in my Jr. high-school choir. I'm not sure that previously-mentioned article was correct on the subject of it's popularity in Europe, unless they specifically meant continental Europe. "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" was a #1 hit on both the UK and Ireland pop charts in 1972, while it only reached the #7 position in the US.

I love all the fashion info! Yup, Peggy sure did wear some terrible clothes. She never looked comfortable in her own skin. Now Birdy, she knew how to dress!

Jon Hamm did an interview with the NYTimes about his interpretation of what happened to Don, and his take is that he goes back to advertising.

I've linked the excerpted version from Vanity Fair, as it isn't firewalled. http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/05/jon-hamm-mad-men-ending-explained

A review in Forbes goes so far as to imagine the pitch meeting (http://www.forbes.com/sites/allenst...ect-harmony-coke-jingle-meaning-recap-review/)

That little smirk on his face sitting on that hill, yup, he went back to advertising.

 

[AnAmericanInDisney]

The guy in the therapy session felt like he was in the fridge and people see him and smile but they don't choose him.

The campaign was "Have a Coke and a Smile." Right?

 

[Muushka]

The guy in the therapy session felt like he was in the fridge and people see him and smile but they don't choose him.

The campaign was "Have a Coke and a Smile." Right?

Good catch!

That scene with him and Don was so sad.

 

[low-key]

Cable shows dont hesitate to make main characters, lose everything and or die. And I was sure this would happen to Don, he is deep and dark and losing it. BUT I was so happy the creator let Don leave on top or the world, you seen the light come on when he doing hippie stuff. Peggy didnt write the script for coke ( as some suggested) but her gift was she found out work wasnt everything, as evident she was typing away, and her new love interrupted her and she liked it. But the writer must of hated Don first wife, she got fat, then got cancer and last seen her dying at kitchen table smoking cigarettes

 

[DanceswithDisney]

www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/mad-men-series-finale-matthew-797302

 

[NewRVLady]

But the writer must of hated Don first wife, she got fat, then got cancer and last seen her dying at kitchen table smoking cigarettes

don't agree AT ALL-Betty was a VERY important character-major-in most of the seasons

danceswithDisney-GREAT LINK-that is the ONLY interview weiner is giving on the show-BTW

 

[moniqueand2]

Since Peggy stayed at McCann-Erikson and Don eventually returns to advertising that leaves room to believe that Peggy and Don remain in each others lives. Which is a happy thought.