Procrastination: Last Week's Mad Men

Yesterday I finished an eight group project which of course means I have to sit down and write a report.  Those of you who have followed this blog know that I have a tendency to procrastinate when I have some writing to do.  Here is what I did this morning:

• Walked the kids and the dog up to the bus stop (which is like taking your life in your own hands given the way people drive down Rocky Rapids road).

• Ran 4 miles in north Stamford (which means lots of hills).

• Read the Stamford Advocate while drinking a pot of coffee.

• Watched last Sunday's Mad Men

It is this last ingredient of my procrastination recipe that is being prolonged by this blog post.  In order to prevent myself from actually having to start my report, I figured I would share my thoughts on last week's episode.

There are four quotes that stand out.  The first is said by Don's secretary in the opening scenes of the episode.  Referring to her eye surgery she said, "I was blind but now I see."  This line is also written in the New Testament after Jesus, on the way to Jericho, comes across a blind man who asks for his sight back. Jesus performs a miracle and the man regains his sight.  

It seems as if Don gets some of his sight back in this episode as well.  He seems to acknowledge that he is drinking too much and while writing wishes to "gain a modicum of control over the way I feel." I love this second quote because we see the great Don Draper acknowledging that he is human. I love that he takes up swimming; its almost as if the Don who enters the swimming pool in the beginning is not the same Don who emerges from it.  Does this imagery symbolize a re-baptism of sorts?  All I can say is that the old Don would have taken Dr. Faye Miller to his bed when she asked where he lived on the cab ride home. The new Don just brings her to her apartment and then sleeps alone.

The third  quote is said by Henry Francis and is directed at Betty, "Shut up Betty, you are drunk."  The honeymoon is over for Betty and Henry and Betty is finding herself in another relationship where her feelings are belittled.  That said, the woman is textbook passive aggressive and needs therapy. I thought she was going to start seeing the psychologist that her daughter Sally was going to as a result of getting caught "double clicking her mouse" during a sleepover. Whatever happened to that story line?  Betty, if you can hear me, get some help.

While writing again, Don's voiceover provides the final quote that stands out in my mind, "We are ruined because we get these things and then wish for what we had."  Isn't it true that we spend much of our lives trying to get ahead only to find that we were happier when life was simpler? This again is Don coming to terms about having to make some changes in his life.  I love the fact that he shows up at his son's birthday party with an elephant as a gift.  I was told once that elephants symbolize life, luck, and self-preservation. This later point is certainly what Don is concerned with now.  Also, let's not forget that elephants also removed some significant obstacles for Hannibal as he had to lead an army through the mountains. Could this symbolize that Don is trying to remove some obstacles in his life?  I suppose time will tell.

I bet right now there are a few thoughts running through your head. One might be "golly, this guy over thinks things way too much." The second might be, "Shut up and get to work."

I will defend myself for the first comment by saying thinking too much is exactly what you want in a moderator.  I won't defend myself for the second, though.  It really is time I get to work!

A Focus Group on FARTS

Sometimes we can find humor in the most unlikely places.  Last year I was in Columbus Ohio running some focus groups for a client looking to get a read on various ways to bundle features and benefits for a new product.  There were 5 “concepts” highlighting different features and each was named with a letter; A, F, R, S, and T.  Those of you who are good at anagrams are already laughing.

After reviewing each concept with respondents, I wanted them to rank order the ones the liked best and therefore set this exercise up as follows:

“Let’s see, we have reviewed concepts F, A, R, T, and S. Please put them in order for me starting with the one you like best and ending with the one you like least.”

My clients in the backroom immediately caught on to what I did and the backroom erupted in laughter.

What can I say? I could not hold it in!

Unintended Product Benefits

Early on in this blog I mentioned that one of my clients is a large lawn equipment company (see post entitled Accents are Funny).  During a recent project our task was to understand how consumers describe the benefits of these features in order to help my client and their agency understand whether or not they are focusing on the right selling points in sales materials. 

One of the features in question was a foldable handle on a walk-behind lawnmower.  I asked everyone what they thought the core benefits were and then turned to one respondent who, shall we say, had a certain “zest for living.”  And by zest I mean that he was most likely trying to prevent glaucoma just minutes before entering my session. I am pretty sure my client was not expecting the following exchange.

Me: “We have not heard from you yet Jerry Garcia (named change to protect the guilty). What are some of the benefits of a foldable handle on a walk-behind lawnmower?”

Jerry Garcia: “I love the foldable handle. After I am done cutting the lawn, I fold it up and hide it under my deck so the bums don’t steal it.”

I can’t wait to see if my client decided to include “theft prevention from hobos” on their updated sales materials.