They did, plus the $15k for the ad, which is where the $50k figure came from.
Does anybody know if there were any Rosemary’s Baby parody ads?
Exactly, just for the extra talent that would be required. $50k would be the entire budget including production.
Just to understand the difference, according to the BLS Inflation Calculator, $15,000 in 1968 is equal to more than $100,000 today and $50,000 is equal to $335,000, so it is pretty insane what Ted was thinking he could get away with.
Using the same calculator, the difference between Sunkist and Ocean Spray would be about $30 million in today’s USD, so Don and Roger and Harry (and Harry Hamlin’s character) were right to say “Sorry Ocean Spray, buh-bye!” over it.
Does anybody know how much Sterling Cooper could take off of a major TV/print campaign? Do ad agencies get a percentage or a rate or… what, exactly?
At one time, the standard commission for agencies was 15% of the media buy cost. Finally, companies started figuring out that in the age of soaring budgets for television this was an incentive for agencies to overbuy to run up their bills. They started negotiating and flat fee pricing. Agencies fought back by creating special divisions for research, marketing, promotion, branding, consulting, etc. that had their own set of charges.
This change took place over a long period. We’re probably still mostly at 15% standard in 1968, although some negotiations on commissions were taking place. Agencies started to be bought up by international conglomerate agencies around then and into the 1970s and that’s when they became supermarkets of services. Saatchi & Saatchi is the model, though it wasn’t founded until 1970. (Interpublic was earlier.) You can see the long list of agencies and company types they bought over the years.
I LOVE the idea of an Advent Calendar…
I completely agree. His accent was abysmal. He is still a bit of a mystery.
At the time you’re doing it, you rarely think in such practical terms. Sometimes the guy does, but very rarely.
At the time you’re doing it, you rarely think in such practical terms.
This is exactly correct. Technically, Don did nothing wrong, and followed the code of business as it was in that age. But he used that code expertly to humiliate Ted and gain an advantage. It is indeed petty and arrogant, but at that time business was far more ruthless; pettiness and arrogance were not always recognized as an impediment to good business.
Which is why Don was 100% correct to call them on it. I won’t speak to his methods but the fact that it needed to be addressed is obvious.
I said earlier *it had to be done. *
I have no idea why you’re pseudo-arguing with me then.
You’re spot on, but I’ll mention that I’ve worked in media buying for awhile and more often than not, you’ll see 15% is still pretty much the standard agency fee.
Thanks for the info.
So would Sterling Cooper also receive residuals on the TV ads?
Doesn’t seem likely to me, but I’ll defer to Bob.
No residuals for the agency. They’d just get their 15% of that booking (plus 15% of every other media buy.)
The last agency I worked at didn’t have their own creative department so we acted as the buying agency for a stand-alone creative shop. They were the agency of record, overall, so they took the 15% and then we got a portion of that, somewhere around 5-7%, less than half anyway.
So I got to thinking about Betty calling Don about boarding school and Don’s immediate reaction of “I’ll pay for it” despite it being a rather pedigreed (not cheap) school and Betty & Henry not exactly being strapped for cash. Now, I know this was Don throwing money at a problem to make it go away but it got me wondering about something else.
Don is rich. Not top hat & monocle rich but ad exec with Manhattan apartment rich. He’s not hurting for money. Megan wouldn’t have to work if she didn’t want to. But she does and Megan is making soap opera actress money. I assume that’s not tons but enough that if she lived on her own, she’d be able to afford a modest apartment and not eat cat food.
So, applying late 1960’s mores, what do you suspect happens with Megan’s paycheck? General fund to keep the lights on? Discretionary income for Megan to spend on red star t-shirts? Savings account? We have no way of knowing for sure, I’m just wondering what the norm would have been for a well paid working husband a wife with a “hobbyist” career.
I think it would all be her “fun money” to spend any way she wanted to.
In my Texas city in the mid-'70’s I scraped by on $8,8600 per year at a non-profit.[Median income for a household of 4 in 1978 was $20,428.] The boss’s secretary made a little less than I, but she was married to a guy who worked in civil service and whose pride would not let him allow her to spend ANY of her money on household necessities. While I struggled to make ends meet every month, often deciding which bills to skip or rushing to the utility company to slip checks in the night slot to avoid having my electricity cut off, she was forced to spend whatever she didn’t save on herself (makeup, clothes, hair), the kids, vacations, etc. She was British and flew home every year for a couple of weeks. I was bitterly jealous.
I’m guessing Megan’s personal financial situation is like this.
While Megan’s not a big star and soap operas aren’t primetime or movies she’s probably still earning way more than the average New Yorker. Of course I doubt that she and Don have a pre-nup, so if they split up her settlement and alimony would probably be way more than she has earned on her own.
Is Henry richer than Don?
Well, they have an 18 room mansion in what I suspect is a wealthy area (hey, it’s an area with 18 room mansions). I don’t know if Henry is wealthier than Don but, had Don suggested to split boarding school 50/50, I don’t think he would have been unreasonable towards Betty & Henry’s finances.
I assumed Henry was from old money which helped put him into politics.
I found this on soap opera salaries in 1971, when the union got a raise:
With one small role Megan was probably working only a day or two per week. With two roles, she may have doubled that. She’s not a newcomer any more so she probably makes more than the minimum. But the pay would be a bit less in 1968. So, ballpark, she could be earning $30-50,000 for a dual role. That’s 6-10 times what my father made in 1968.
True, but she wouldn’t get nearly as much as Betty could’ve gotten if she didn’t remarry Henry right away. Don & Megan have been married less than 3 yrs, they have no kids, and she’s not even 30.
It’s pretty obvious Henry is from old money. Even Betty’s made some snide comments about him growing up with servants. Unlike her his nanny, cook, & housekeeper were all separate women.