Turn off your mind, relax and float downstream

Don, whisky in hand, tries to float downstream. Image via AMC

A rare occurence on last night's TV. In fact not just rare but unique.  Reputedly a first.


Series 5, episode 8 (for those who care about such things) of Mad Men saw Don Draper sit back and listen to "Tomorrow never knows", the closing track of Revolver, the album that saw the mop tops begin to transform their output from 'boy band' crowd-pleasers to the more musically challenging stuff of legend.


Apart from the obvious pleasure to be had from such an event (calm down Jo!) this was special because the Beatles estate guards their brand and the rights to its usage ferociously.  We've only been able to buy the stuff on iTunes for two years after all. This was one of the only times, if not THE only time that a Beatles song has ever appeared in a TV show.


One of the many, many marvellous things about Mad Men is its authenticity and absolute attention to detail. Everything from the clothes to the sets, to the storylines and language screams '60s. But the music choices are never simply wallpaper - they always have a deeper rationale and meaning.  So given the Beatles were the soundtrack to the period they really have to be there - but it wasn't just any old track it had to be the right track, carefully chosen to support the storyline of Don's efforts to tune into the new youth culture.  At a reputed cost upwards of $250,000 I wonder how many more times Weiner and his team can afford to repeat such a treat even if Apple allow it.

Mad Men fall foul of the thought police

Don't you just love New Yorkers?
With the new series of Mad Men just around the corner (well March to be precise) it seems the latest poster campaign has got NYC all hot and bothered.  No it's not Joanie's pneumatically upholstered body which is causing the problem but the image of the falling man.
On the one hand we've got graffiti artists cleverly taking the image and adding a whale to create, lo and behold, a whimsical illustration reminiscent of a children's storybook.
While on the other, we've an online spat amongst the blogging community as to whether the campaign is offensive and a desecration of the memory of 9/11 and the 'falling man' or jumpers from the Twin Towers.
Is the similarity intentional?  Who's exploiting who - the admen cynically using the imagery knowing full well it will create a furore? Or the bloggers creating a something out of nothing spat to up their page views - after all the imagery is only that which has been used on the opening credits since the series began.
Take a look at 'I live in New York' and you decide - I think I know what Don Draper would have done. Oh and sorry about the language - but you know what these New Yorkers are like.  

Posters all over Manhattan

But when reflected in a phone box it does look very suggestive

Certainly getting a reaction

With added whale

The cure for the common blog

So I guess first of all, welcome to our new audience. Up until this week we've blogged for our eyes only. So now it's my turn again - but this time with the eyes of the cyber world upon me. It's the difference between singing your heart out in the shower or behind the wheel in the fast lane and taking centre stage at the karaoke bar.

Now our Woodreed blog is open to the outside world will it change the way we blog and what we blog about?

Can I, for example, talk about the sublime scene in this week's Mad Men where Peggy called the bluff of her abrasive new art director and they found themselves stark naked brainstorming new creative concepts for Vicks? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdKSDqo9FaU Can I ponder whether that approach would ever see the light of day at Woodreed - Jodie and Dave any thoughts? Or would I be venturing perilously close to employee litigation? On second thoughts......

Or could I dare comment upon the wannabee creative from the same episode who'd hopefully recycled one tired and hackneyed line across endless ads in his book: The cure for the common bank, the cure for the common chair, the cure for the common beer ... What agency would ever do such a thing?

Or should I be more business like and simply muse about how I'll be feeling this time next week? Once Charlotte and I have presented our masterclass on the power of brand as a tool for employee engagement to 200 delegates at The Travel Convention in Malta? What's really excited me putting that together with Charlotte has been the power of our presentation. It really is the culmination of so much great insight and experience - so will we inspire or will we be ....?

I'll let you know next week.