# Mad-Men: 5.12 "Commissions & Fees" (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 4, 2012, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-12-commissions-fees-open-spoilers/623980 "2012-06-04T00:16:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![CJJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@CJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJJ)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-12-commissions-fees-open-spoilers/623980/161 "2012-06-05T19:21:34Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > The standard commission structure for an ad agency is to take 15% of the cost of the commercial/ad that they place. So if they pay $85 net to a station for a TV or radio spot, there would be a $15 commission. The client would pay $100 to the agency, and the agency would pay the station their $85 and keep the rest. > > Under a fee deal, the client would just pay a flat rate for all of the work being done and it wouldn’t matter what kind of rates they were able to negotiate with the station. > > So it’s almost always a less profitable deal for the agency, which is why they were worried about other clients all wanting the same deal. It is less profitable, but it’s somewhat safer, as comission can pay off big if the commercial is a “hit”. That ties into the theme of the episode, which contrasted the alpha-male drive to “get 100%” versus the safer but “piddly shit” work offered by second-tier clients. Lane–the beta swimming with the sharks–was an unfortunate casualty to that theme. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-12-commissions-fees-open-spoilers/623980/162 "2012-06-05T19:32:23Z")
Was anything further made of Lane keeping that lady’s photo from the wallet he found? It seemed at the time to be developing into an interesting storyline but didn’t (IIRC) go anywhere. Speaking of missing cast members, was Dawn ever meant to be anything but a minor side character? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-12-commissions-fees-open-spoilers/623980/163 "2012-06-05T19:48:56Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > Maybe not a neat bow, but Mad Men often jumps ahead in time episode to episode and it wouldn’t surprise me if the finale takes place some months after Lane’s suicide rather than picking up right when it left off. Exactly. I would expect reverberations because _everything_ comes back in this show. What I wouldn’t expect is next-day minutiae of coroner reports or people pouring through the books looking for clues. The standard seems to be episodes are spaced around a month apart so next week will be long after the cops and rug service have left the building. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-12-commissions-fees-open-spoilers/623980/164 "2012-06-05T19:51:01Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > Was anything further made of Lane keeping that lady’s photo from the wallet he found? It seemed at the time to be developing into an interesting storyline but didn’t (IIRC) go anywhere. Hm, good question. At this point, in hindsight, I’d say it’s just another brick in the “Lane’s life isn’t really going that great at the moment” wall. In the interview w/ Jared Harris I linked to up-thread, he mentions that the costumes for Lane this season were more shabby and had stains and what not. So they’ve been doing little things like that to show his character’s downward spiral, so maybe the photo was just part of that. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-12-commissions-fees-open-spoilers/623980/165 "2012-06-06T03:59:15Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Why? People kill themselves for all sorts of reasons. I don’t think it would occur to the coroner to look at the company financials. It will probably come out that his personal financial situation is in shambles and that will close the case. > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Obviously Pete gets Lane’s office. Don & Roger have no reason to want it, Burt and Joan are not not venal enough to suggest it, and Pete **is** venal enough to suggest it. Hopefully he will get it but only after Joan demonstrates that she too can kick his ass… > [@Acsenray](#): > > Does the _coroner_ do this kind of questioning? It looks like police work to me. Do the authorities even try to figure out _why_ a person commited suicide? 😕 I thought the extent of their invesigation was simply to determine that yes, Lane hung himself, and it wasn’t murder fixed up to look like a suicide. > [@Bytegeist](#): > > Possibly — although it seems to me Pete’s current office (which he upgraded to earlier, when he swapped with Harry) is very similar to Lane’s. It’s about the same size, with the same outside view too, as they’re right next to each other… I don’t think there’s any difference size-wise, amenity wise, or viewise between Lane & Pete’s offices. Joan might want it simply because it has a lock, and doesn’t have the dual entrances that make people try to use her current office as a shortcut. Also she doesn’t need to spy on the conference room tru the 2-way mirror anymore. And if she’s too freaked out about Lane dying there she can always take over Harry’s office and make him move in. I do think Joan will take over Lane’s position as Finance Director. She was basically Lane’s deputy, is a partner, and most importantly is already familiar with the books and the firm’s dirty laundry. Also it helps that none of the other partners really thought that being Finance Director was that important or significant a job. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-12-commissions-fees-open-spoilers/623980/166 "2012-06-06T13:04:56Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > I do think Joan will take over Lane’s position as Finance Director. She was basically Lane’s deputy, is a partner, and most importantly is already familiar with the books and the firm’s dirty laundry. Also it helps that none of the other partners really thought that being Finance Director was that important or significant a job. I don’t believe Joan has any of the qualifications of a real Finance Director. She may handle the paperwork at the office, but she’s never dealt with a bank - and she certainly couldn’t talk to the bank contact over drinks the way Lane did. This may be the clue to the otherwise inexplicable discussion of commissions vs. fees. As I said before, those lead to smaller agencies needing to be bought out by big ones. And Don must know now that he’ll never get the big airline while SCDP is a tiny boutique agency. He needs to play in the big leagues. Maybe we’ll see signs of that next week. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-12-commissions-fees-open-spoilers/623980/167 "2012-06-06T14:12:23Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I don’t believe Joan has any of the qualifications of a real Finance Director. She may handle the paperwork at the office, but she’s never dealt with a bank - and she certainly couldn’t talk to the bank contact over drinks the way Lane did. I think that she’s the best qualified of the partners to actually handle the finances. I bet that this is where she steps up and proves her real worth. She’ll actually meet with the bankers and throw them for a loop when they don’t take her seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-12-commissions-fees-open-spoilers/623980/168 "2012-06-06T14:14:52Z")
Who handled the books back in the first season? Did they have outside help or was there an accountant type I don’t remember? I know Cooper looked at them but I didn’t think he directly kept them. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-12-commissions-fees-open-spoilers/623980/169 "2012-06-06T15:03:54Z")
I think that they’re going to need a real financial director, particularly for such thorny technical things such as the commissions vs fees issue. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-12-commissions-fees-open-spoilers/623980/170 "2012-06-06T15:04:07Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Who handled the books back in the first season? Did they have outside help or was there an accountant type I don’t remember? I know Cooper looked at them but I didn’t think he directly kept them. It was a big company. There was an entire accounting department that we never saw. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-12-commissions-fees-open-spoilers/623980/171 "2012-06-06T15:21:14Z")
That’s true. In retrospect, I’m surprised that we never heard from their finance director or anything. Especially during the buy-out. ---
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-12-commissions-fees-open-spoilers/623980/172 "2012-06-06T16:08:37Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > That’s true. In retrospect, I’m surprised that we never heard from their finance director or anything. Especially during the buy-out. I think Lane was their finance director. Sterling-Cooper was bought by a British company and Lane was brought in. SCDP was formed when another company bought the British company. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-12-commissions-fees-open-spoilers/623980/173 "2012-06-06T16:13:19Z")
No, I meant the original Sterling Cooper. When you’re being bought out by another firm, you’d think you’d want your accounting head in on it. Or maybe he was and it wasn’t interesting enough for me to remember. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-12-commissions-fees-open-spoilers/623980/174 "2012-06-06T16:43:57Z")
Lane’s original company basically bought Sterling Cooper, removed the fat and excess from ti, improved the finances and then was going to sell it for a profit. All of the dirty work of taking over and streamlining the company was done by Lane at the behest of the Home company. Once that was done they wanted to send Lane to India (I think) to basically do the same thing to another company. So I think Lane was made head of Finance. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-12-commissions-fees-open-spoilers/623980/175 "2012-06-06T17:27:59Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Lane’s original company basically bought Sterling Cooper, removed the fat and excess from ti, improved the finances and then was going to sell it for a profit. All of the dirty work of taking over and streamlining the company was done by Lane at the behest of the Home company. Once that was done they wanted to send Lane to India (I think) to basically do the same thing to another company. So I think Lane was made head of Finance. So… Lane is Mitt Romney of Bain Capital? ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-12-commissions-fees-open-spoilers/623980/176 "2012-06-06T19:38:35Z")
Regarding Elisabeth Moss’ future on the show: [She might be gone for good.](http://social.entertainment.msn.com/tv/blogs/tv-buzz-blog.aspx?blog=2080&feat=8a5c267d-6ed6-42a7-add0-4551546ff4fa) ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-12-commissions-fees-open-spoilers/623980/177 "2012-06-06T20:21:28Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Obviously Pete gets Lane’s office. Don & Roger have no reason to want it, Burt and Joan are not not venal enough to suggest it, and Pete **is** venal enough to suggest it. Hopefully he will get it but only after Joan demonstrates that she too can kick his ass. Fercryinoutloud. Bert Cooper comes back and takes Lane’s office. In his mind, it’s time the grownups took charge again. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-12-commissions-fees-open-spoilers/623980/178 "2012-06-06T22:20:39Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > Fercryinoutloud. Bert Cooper comes back and takes Lane’s office. In his mind, it’s time the grownups took charge again. Who’s the other grownup? Well, Joan, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-12-commissions-fees-open-spoilers/623980/179 "2012-06-06T22:42:53Z")
Harry Crane - at least on the business side of the aisle. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-12-commissions-fees-open-spoilers/623980/180 "2012-06-06T23:23:06Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > The Big Question: Who gets Lane’s office? That’s what really matters when someone “resigns”. Harry. The answer is Harry. He’ll look excited for a moment and then realize they gave him a dead man’s office. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-12-commissions-fees-open-spoilers/623980.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-12-commissions-fees-open-spoilers/623980.md?page=10)