# Mad-Men: 7.12 "Lost Horizon" (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 4, 2015, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-12-lost-horizon-open-spoilers/719190 "2015-05-04T00:21:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**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:** [May 5, 2015, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-12-lost-horizon-open-spoilers/719190/101 "2015-05-05T20:56:55Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I know that in the past, they’ve taken out ads in WSJ and written tweets having fun with it. But what if people started equating the TV version with the real McCann and business fell off, could they do anything about it? > > I’ve always wondered that about the real brands that they use on the show, are there any copyright protections for a real product in a work of fiction? Copyright law gives exclusive rights to the creator of a creative and original work of expression that is fixed in a perceivable medium. So, no, there is no copyright protection for a brand or a product. Trademark law gives exclusive rights to a company that uses a name image or other distinctive identifier of the origin of goods or services. However, “Mad Men” is not using any of those brand names, trademarks, names, logos, etc., in commerce as source identifiers, so there’s nothing in that direction. The only kind of action that comes to mind off the top of my head is some kind of defamation claim. They would have to argue that “Mad Men” is making false statements that members of the public are likely to accept as statements of fact. ---
**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:** [May 5, 2015, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-12-lost-horizon-open-spoilers/719190/102 "2015-05-05T21:00:22Z")
As I recall, Jaguar knew that they would be involved in the show and signed off on it (maybe?) but they weren’t very thrilled with how that storyline shook out for obvious reasons. ETA: Ok,[here’s an article about it](http://theweek.com/articles/474875/jaguar-vs-mad-men-how-company-dealing-shows-unflattering-portrayal). I guess they didn’t know the details of the plot but the MM people did contact them for research: > [@](#): > > **Did Jaguar know it would be featured in the series?** > The company did not ask to be written into Mad Men, nor does it pay for product placement. The series’ story researchers contacted the company when the episodes were being written to nail down details about sixties models and what a Manhattan dealership of the era would have looked like. Jaguar was not told what the storyline would be. > > **How has Jaguar reacted?** > After the episode in which the agency’s partners encourage Joan to prostitute herself to a manipulative Jaguar exec to ensure his support for the agency, the company told Ad Age that, while it was “gratifying” to see the car featured in the show, they were “fairly surprised at the turn of events.” Perhaps naively, a spokesperson added “we’re confident that people know [the philandering executive is] a fictional character.” This seemingly laissez-faire attitude earned Jaguar headlines like, “Jaguar is cool looking like total scumbags on Mad Men.” Jaguar also set up a special PR team to directly respond to the episodes after they air on Twitter. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-12-lost-horizon-open-spoilers/719190/103 "2015-05-05T21:19:36Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I think that McCann had some interest in SC&P’s accounts and also in their personnel. Plus, by buying up the competition you’re eliminating them. From what I understand, a lot of smaller ad agencies disappeared during this era due to buy-outs and consolidations. I don’t know if it was special to SC&P – I think that if CGC still existed as their own firm and made signs to McCann that they were for sale, McCann would have just as happily bought them out. Any credible agency would have been of interest for a purchase. Looking at how McCann runs things, it’s obvious that McCann had lost it’s edge. Hobart was pointedly not really interested in the accounts that SC&P could bring, they’re dwarfed in size by the accounts McCann is chasing after. What he wanted was for the SC&P people to infuse some life into McCann’s creative. However, they’re doing the classic big company mistake of overpaying for something unique and then systematically stomping everything unique out of it. The scene with the roast beef was especially telling and clever, I thought. When Meredith asked him if roast beef was ok, Don Draper was expecting massive slices of prime rib being carved tableside while he wined and dined Miller in the “executive dining room”. Instead, he got sad little sandwiches while some guy from research wasted everyone’s time. It was obvious from that one scene what went wrong with McCann and obvious that no amount of Don Draper could ever fix it. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-12-lost-horizon-open-spoilers/719190/104 "2015-05-05T21:21:15Z")
> [@GrandWino](#): > > As I recall, Jaguar knew that they would be involved in the show and signed off on it (maybe?) but they weren’t very thrilled with how that storyline shook out for obvious reasons. Pryce trying to commit suicide by gassing himself in a Jag (and having the engine fail to start!) could not have gone over very well either. :eek: ☹ ---
**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:** [May 5, 2015, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-12-lost-horizon-open-spoilers/719190/105 "2015-05-05T21:26:56Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > It was obvious from that one scene what went wrong with McCann and obvious that no amount of Don Draper could ever fix it. Did anyone think that McCann as a whole needed to be fixed? They are still one of the most successful ad agencies in history with s mountain of award-winning campaigns. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-12-lost-horizon-open-spoilers/719190/106 "2015-05-05T21:29:54Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > What he wanted was for the SC&P people to infuse some life into McCann’s creative. However, they’re doing the classic big company mistake of overpaying for something unique and then systematically stomping everything unique out of it. Exactly the same thing happened at the little 5,000-watt radio station I used to work at. After operating for two or three years, it was acquired by an international mega-media company that shall remain nameless. In came the MBA whiteshirts from New York with their laptops, and a year later all of the creative original staff were gone. The station went from being truly different and special to something completely run-of-the-mill cookie-cutter bland and boring. If you’ve never been trapped in such a situation, it is extremely depressing and gut-wrenching! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-12-lost-horizon-open-spoilers/719190/107 "2015-05-05T21:36:14Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > some guy from research A/k/a “MBA whiteshirt” or just plain “douchebag.” :mad: \*Sorry, I’m getting off on a tangent here… ☹ ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-12-lost-horizon-open-spoilers/719190/108 "2015-05-05T21:40:50Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Given that McCann is a real world firm, are there any limits to how badly they can be portrayed on Mad Men? Could the firm take successful legal action if they felt they were portrayed unfairly and it hurt their business? Apparently they are enjoying the attention and have quite a sense of humor about it: > **[Home](https://www.avclub.com/)** > > The A.V. Club digs deep into film, TV, music, games, books and more. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-12-lost-horizon-open-spoilers/719190/109 "2015-05-05T21:45:07Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Did anyone think that McCann as a whole needed to be fixed? They are still one of the most successful ad agencies in history with s mountain of award-winning campaigns. I agree with the arlier posters who noted the Chevy-Buick connection. McCann got Chevrolet in addition to removing (who we infer is) their biggest competitor for ALL the GM business. And thanks to the no-compete clauses, no one can mount a challenge for at least five years. Throw in a few other moneymakers like Sunkist and Ocean Spray, and McCann got its money’s worth, even if Don Draper should happen to be murdered by some random hitchhiker he picks up.😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-12-lost-horizon-open-spoilers/719190/110 "2015-05-05T22:41:08Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Throw in a few other moneymakers like Sunkist and Ocean Spray, and McCann got its money’s worth, even if Don Draper should happen to be murdered by some random hitchhiker he picks up.😉 I’m almost expecting Don to kill the hitchhiker to assume his identity. ---
**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:** [May 5, 2015, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-12-lost-horizon-open-spoilers/719190/111 "2015-05-05T23:27:54Z")
I thought Chevy dropped SC&P. Then they hired Bob Benson (Bob Benson is my vote for the absolute stupidest storyline in the show’s run, btw) and SC&P no longer has/had a Detroit presence. ---
**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:** [May 6, 2015, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-12-lost-horizon-open-spoilers/719190/112 "2015-05-06T00:21:11Z")
> [@sparky\_1](#): > > …Also, didn’t Don kinda have a drinking problem in an earlier season? And now that’s just gone? Though McCann did mention that perhaps Don was “on a bender”. Madison Avenue was (is?) a small world and Don’s drinking habits are well known even if all the details aren’t. When Don walked out of the meeting & disappeared without telling anyone Jim immediately assumed “bender”. Even Meredith (who’s really gotten a lot more competent since being assigned Don) is probably wonder about it (in a “this again” sense). > [@Acsenray](#): > > What did McCann Erickson get out of this merger?..So this whole thing was nothing but Jim Hobart’s decade-long desire to put Don Draper in a dog collar?.. Pretty much. Don was the star attraction; Ted & Roger were secondary, and the actual clients after them. Jim thinks Don would be a great asset for McCann, but deluded himself about how much he could control him. > [@Acsenray](#): > > Think back to The premiere episode when Joan was giving Peggy all that life advice. Back then, an office girl’s highest ambition was to marry an executive and move to the suburbs (“in the country”). > > Joan has come a long way. Well we saw how well her marriage to become a successful doctor’s wife worked out. > [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](#): > > …Joan had to know that if she took them to court what would stop them from using her past to shame her? Remember, she had a long lasting affair with her boss (Sterling) and had sex with a client to allow them to get Jaguar. Yes, it wasn’t cut and dried, but on the surface it would look and sound as if she was promiscuous, to climb the corporate ladder… Good point; it’s some consultation for Joan that Jim doesn’t have a clue about Jaguar, or else he most certainly would’ve thrown that in her face. > [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > I’m pretty sure the guy looking for “fun” had a wife & kids at home. Why should he care about her “boyfriend”? She’s twice divorced & shacking up wasn’t respectable back then… A boyfriend might’ve put him off because he doesn’t want the hassle of encroaching another male’s “territory”. > [@Acsenray](#): > > I’m not so sure about Peggy — “that’s not going to last”? Are they already plotting her ouster? Tom & Lorenzo nicely summarize the contrasts between Joan & Peggy in this week’s blog [post.](http://tomandlorenzo.com/2015/05/mad-men-lost-horizon/) Peggy’s been doing the job she’s in a lot longer, and is a lot better at it than Joan is at accounts. Peggy has a reputation that Joan doesn’t and Peggy is a lot more useful to McCann than Joan would be. Plus Peggy’s going into McCann without any illusions of staying for the long all; 3 years max and she’s done (likely to a Creative Director at small firm, if she doesn’t finally meet up with the right people to start her own). ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-12-lost-horizon-open-spoilers/719190/113 "2015-05-06T01:17:11Z")
Atlantic Monthly has a piece on companies responding to being mentioned on the show: [From Jaguar to Hershey, What Is 'Mad Men' Selling? - The Atlantic](http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/05/mad-men-advertising-boost/392330/) ---
**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:** [May 6, 2015, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-12-lost-horizon-open-spoilers/719190/114 "2015-05-06T02:28:51Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > Looking at how McCann runs things, it’s obvious that McCann had lost it’s edge. Hobart was pointedly not really interested in the accounts that SC&P could bring, they’re dwarfed in size by the accounts McCann is chasing after. > > What he wanted was for the SC&P people to infuse some life into McCann’s creative. However, they’re doing the classic big company mistake of overpaying for something unique and then systematically stomping everything unique out of it. I agree with the others who say that he bought it to reduce competition and couldn’t care less about the people. McCann-Erickson is just about to introduce the Miller Lite tastes great/less filling campaign, one of the greatest in advertising history. How could they be said to have lost their edge? > [@](#): > > The scene with the roast beef was especially telling and clever, I thought. When Meredith asked him if roast beef was ok, Don Draper was expecting massive slices of prime rib being carved tableside while he wined and dined Miller in the “executive dining room”. Instead, he got sad little sandwiches while some guy from research wasted everyone’s time. It was obvious from that one scene what went wrong with McCann and obvious that no amount of Don Draper could ever fix it. I agree that the scene showed Don that everything he thought about how he would be treated there was wrong. (And I thought executive dining room, too. We were all played by Weiner/Hobart.) But the guy from research wasn’t wasting anyone’s time. He was giving a brilliant report to his people about the customer they were aiming for. It was the single best presentation in the history of the show. In the early years, when they still showed SC people creating, people used to complain loudly about how bad what they showed would have been in the real world. This wasn’t. This was real world. Maybe it comes across as boring and un-Draperish, but that’s the point. And we forget today how many of the campaigns got turned down by their clients. This will be classic because it’s being done right. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-12-lost-horizon-open-spoilers/719190/115 "2015-05-06T02:46:50Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I thought Chevy dropped SC&P. Then they hired Bob Benson (Bob Benson is my vote for the absolute stupidest storyline in the show’s run, btw) and SC&P no longer has/had a Detroit presence. They did. It was a trial, which SC&P passed, enough so that Hobart got worried about McCann’s Buick business – which is why he sidled up to Roger in the steam room. Roger didn’t understand why Hobart was nervous until Joan explained what she’d learned from Bob. Which Roger then used as leverage to get Hobart’s 51% buyout offer. Since we haven’t heard anything more of this, I’d assume that McCann pointed out that with SC&P now part of McCann, Buick had no reason to move the business to their new subsidiary, so McCann kept the account. Which is what Hobart wanted all along. Getting his “white whale” was just a bonus. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-12-lost-horizon-open-spoilers/719190/116 "2015-05-06T10:41:02Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I agree with the others who say that he bought it to reduce competition and couldn’t care less about the people. McCann-Erickson is just about to introduce the Miller Lite tastes great/less filling campaign, one of the greatest in advertising history. > [@](#): > > I agree that the scene showed Don that everything he thought about how he would be treated there was wrong. (And I thought executive dining room, too. We were all played by Weiner/Hobart.) But the guy from research wasn’t wasting anyone’s time. He was giving a brilliant report to his people about the customer they were aiming for. It was the single best presentation in the history of the show. In the early years, when they still showed SC people creating, people used to complain loudly about how bad what they showed would have been in the real world. This wasn’t. This was real world. Maybe it comes across as boring and un-Draperish, but that’s the point. And we forget today how many of the campaigns got turned down by their clients. This will be classic because it’s being done right. Heh. You know, it’s still _possible_ that you’re 100% wrong, there. Just picture it: the boring and un-Draperish company men who ate their pathetic little sandwiches while nodding along with The Guy From Research spend the next episode crafting a campaign built around pitching someone who, y’know, drinks what his father drank, and there are images of, like, tools in a garage, and so on. And then Don strolls in, wearing his grey suit like 007 and holding a toasted-tobacco cigarette – telling everyone he _recently bedded a waitress, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, but soon realized the feeling was fleeting and set to looking for something more – same way I crave a beer that tastes great, and is less filling._ ---
**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:** [May 6, 2015, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-12-lost-horizon-open-spoilers/719190/117 "2015-05-06T11:47:37Z")
I thought that part of the problem was that the research guy was telling the kind of story that Don was in the habit of constructing himself through the creative process. At McCann, the creative directors have that taken out of their hands and instead compete with each other to fulfill the research guy’s vision. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-12-lost-horizon-open-spoilers/719190/118 "2015-05-06T13:31:51Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I thought that part of the problem was that the research guy was telling the kind of story that Don was in the habit of constructing himself through the creative process. Except that Don would never sit at the table and give such a canned presentation of boring factoids. I’d’ve been staring out the window after the first fifteeen seconds too. ---
**Author:** ![chaika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chaika/32/405_2.png) [@chaika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaika)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-12-lost-horizon-open-spoilers/719190/119 "2015-05-06T13:59:18Z")
The presentation for lite beer was like Don Draper lite. Empty and tasteless, without the genuine insights Don achieved in his heyday. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-12-lost-horizon-open-spoilers/719190/120 "2015-05-06T14:38:11Z")
I thought that was a great episode. I loved every part of it. I didn’t enjoy the Joan getting harassed parts, but they were accurate and heartbreaking and well done. It was so upsetting when Joan thought she got an ally, but he seemed like he would be even worse. And I wanted her to kick all sorts of ass, but I understand she took the best option for her. I loved Peggy and Roger’s scene. It seemed to inject new life into both of them. I’m sure Peggy will face issues at McCann, but it looks like she’ll be able to handle it. > [@Jophiel](#): > > Despite Peggy’s ownin’ it walk into McCann, what’s his name (the boss) responded to Joan saying that Peggy was the head copywriter (and thus she had men under her) by saying something like “That’s not going to last here”. I suppose out of the two of them, we need one woman “success in business” story to wrap up the story line but I wonder what the next two episodes will hold for Ms. Olson. Yeah, I don’t know what exactly her position will be. Possibly she’ll be like the other copywriter women we saw at the beginning of the episode talking to Joan. But she’s proved herself before, and I think she knows she can prove herself again, even though that’s not how she wants it to go. > [@Jophiel](#): > > I’m incredibly skeptical that Diane is so alluring that she has a stream of love-struck men headed to Racine to find her. It’s not that she’s so alluring. If any of the other men on the show had met her, they wouldn’t be super interested. It’s that for a certain type of damaged man, she’s perfect. > [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > I’m sure you’re right; I guess my thing is that it seems a strange premise for the setup. > > Did anyone else pick up on the “this is Don’s final goodbye” vibe in the scene with Betty? He goes to take Sally to school and she’s gone, the boys are otherwise occupied and Betty is seemingly moving on to a whole new chapter of her life. It was like there was nothing else left for him there and he had this air of resignation; goodbye to this life and on to the next. It’s a bit haunting. Each episode in this (half) season has ended with Don losing a bit more of his Don Draper life. In the first episode, it ended with him wanting to see Di at the diner and her not being there, and him being all alone. The second episode ended with him losing pretty much all the stuff from his apartment. The third episode ended up with his apartment selling and him out in the hallway. The fourth ended up with him losing his independence with SC&P and being swallowed up by McCann. Also with him losing some more of his mojo, since he tried to give a speech about this not being an end, but a new beginning, and none of the employees listening. I don’t know if Don let go of his job this episode, but it doesn’t look like he’ll be staying long. I would think he’ll have to go back to the office at least one more time, because there needs to be a goodbye with him and Peggy at the very least. At first I thought that maybe he’ll get some sort of traveling salesman job, but I don’t know if that’s exactly what he’d want. Or how common those jobs are in 1970. It seems the most thematically appropriate would be for him to buy a little farm and to somewhat become Dick Whitman again. > [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Joan’s work had already gotten her a pretty good nest egg; she’s bought some nice clothes but still lives in That Apartment. Even at 50 cents on a dollar, the final payout would be a tidy sum in 1970 terms. > > Joan got out of a poisonous atmosphere that was never going to improve. For her–cute, smart Peggy can hack it for a few years. And Joan\* did \*take her Rolodex… I looked up what she made for the sale; in the episode Waterloo, Roger said that Joan made [“a little over one and a half million.”](http://www.vulture.com/2014/05/mad-men-how-much-did-each-of-the-partners-make.html) So even if she’s not getting the full half million still owed to her, she’s received $1.25 million from the sale to McCann. She is set for life. It’ll be interesting to see what she does next, I hope they address it, even if it’s just with a few passing comments. I don’t think she can work in advertising anymore, but her general skills could let her go to any number of businesses. She’s worked at a department store before, maybe she could be some sort of executive at Macy’s or something. > [@Shalmanese](#): > > The scene with the roast beef was especially telling and clever, I thought. When Meredith asked him if roast beef was ok, Don Draper was expecting massive slices of prime rib being carved tableside while he wined and dined Miller in the “executive dining room”. Instead, he got sad little sandwiches while some guy from research wasted everyone’s time. It was obvious from that one scene what went wrong with McCann and obvious that no amount of Don Draper could ever fix it. That whole scene was great. The McCann guys said earlier that it was a shirtsleeve operation, that he’s supposed to relax, but all of the guys in there without their jackets just look like drones. And Don hearing that they said to Ted the exact same thing they said to him. > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I agree with the others who say that he bought it to reduce competition and couldn’t care less about the people. McCann-Erickson is just about to introduce the Miller Lite tastes great/less filling campaign, one of the greatest in advertising history. How could they be said to have lost their edge? > I agree that the scene showed Don that everything he thought about how he would be treated there was wrong. (And I thought executive dining room, too. We were all played by Weiner/Hobart.) But the guy from research wasn’t wasting anyone’s time. He was giving a brilliant report to his people about the customer they were aiming for. It was the single best presentation in the history of the show. In the early years, when they still showed SC people creating, people used to complain loudly about how bad what they showed would have been in the real world. This wasn’t. This was real world. Maybe it comes across as boring and un-Draperish, but that’s the point. And we forget today how many of the campaigns got turned down by their clients. This will be classic because it’s being done right. It’s true that the Miller Lite campaign will be hugely successful. But that presentation sounded terrible to me. The presentation starts out by saying he’s going to talk about a specific man, but then starts saying he lives in Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin. Doesn’t sound like a very specific man to me. Then he says other vague things about what he likes or does. And one camera shot shows other guys at the meeting with their pens ready to write and take notes, but none of them are, because there’s nothing to take notes about. I’ve been in a lot of meetings like that, where someone is droning on and saying nothing, but I don’t always have a window to stare out of and watch a plane fly overhead. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-12-lost-horizon-open-spoilers/719190.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-12-lost-horizon-open-spoilers/719190.md?page=7)