CarrieCee said:

LittlePurpleYoda said:

But he said he'd retired. Maybe he fed it to Peggy, like he did when he was suspended, & helped her get the Creative Director gig faster than she may have otherwise? It's all just conjecture, sure, but it's annoyingly what we're left with.

And it's not limited to this thread:

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/mad-men-finale-don-peggy-create-coke-ad-article-1.2226352

http://blogs.wsj.com/cmo/2015/05/18/the-man-behind-the-id-like-to-buy-the-world-a-coke-ad-besides-possibly-don-draper/

http://hollywoodlife.com/2015/05/18/mad-men-series-finale-recap-don-creates-coke-commercial/

I dunno....I've read some things on the AMC site and NPR and they all seemed to believe it was his "A-ha" moment. How else would you describe the ding insantly followed by the smirk instantly followed by the most iconic coke ad in history?

People can be happy because they've had a breakthrough, whether it was a way to go back to NYC & sell pop or not sell pop.

For every one of us who is confused or irritated by the finale, for everyone who is satisfied, who thinks he thought of the Coke ad & goes home, there are people that probably think he gave the idea to Peggy.

Others might think that in a world with superficiality, deception, denial and dishonesty about one's self, Don is finally at peace with who he really is. Before he leaves NYC, he’s gifted the Coke account, he’s asked to fix the Coke machine by the hotel manager during his road trip & a song plays over the end of every episode – what was chosen to play after the finale could have just been a song created by the same ad agency he retired/walked away from. Who knows? The ad was actually created by a guy named Bob Backer, whose name is similar to Don Draper, & the show has always tried to be vaguely realistic.

Then again, maybe the interpretation that it is his idea & he takes it back & commercializes it as his next big win - that’s the most deliciously cynical way to end a story about the advertising industry? An ad man uses his new age awakening to commercialize new age awakenings?

I will miss this show.

I wish he made the leap home.

[img:$uid]http://i.imgur.com/mxJL5Y4.jpg[/img:$uid]


The Parallels Between Don Draper and Superman
05/2015


Last night on his Twitter, Eisner Award-winning author Mark Waid — who chronicled a new origin for the Man of Steel in Superman: Birthright — explored the ways Don Draper parallels Superman with themes of alienation following the series finale of AMC’s hit drama.

i'm glad that i was wrong about pete! i thought about his character arc. he was this callow man trying to live up to some vaunted family legacy that eluded him. the final straw was that crazy assed scene with dean of that private school who resented pete for some long ago forgotten family feud. and pete rightly punched him. so while pete was at turns dislikeable and punchable himself, i really like the way his story ended with him unmooring himself from the past to create his own legacy. i'm glad that i read some of the others interpretations of what the coke ad meant, b/c there were some clues that i clearly wasn't paying attention to (him being asked to fix the coke machine, peggy asking him about coke). it's like well DUH, why didn't you get that?! LOL! i think betty stayed true to the end. i read a review of the episode when she finds out about her fate, and the reviewer pointed out that of all the characters, she probably would have fared the worst in the 70s. she was a person of her time, and she wouldn't have know how to cope. i think that's pretty accurate. i love how joan's story ended up, and while i'm not sure i believe peggy's, i still feel good about hers, too. i liked sasquatch! LOL!

also, loved roger. he was good to the end. 'bring a bottle of champagne for me and my mother'. classic roger!

kibbles said:

also, loved roger. he was good to the end. 'bring a bottle of champagne for me and my mother'. classic roger!

Roger was my favorite in this entire series!!!

While I'm still annoyed by the ambiguity of the ending, here's what John Hamm had to say about it to The New York Times:

"I think there probably is [one correct answer]. But I think, like most stories that we go back to, that it’s a little bit ambiguous. We had talked about this ending for a long time and that was Matt [Weiner]’s image. I was struck by the poetry of it. I didn’t know what his plans were, to get Don to this meditative, contemplative place. I just knew that he had this final image in mind.

When we find Don in that place, and this stranger relates this story of not being heard or seen or understood or appreciated, the resonance for Don was total in that moment...

My take is that, the next day, he wakes up in this beautiful place, and has this serene moment of understanding, and realizes who he is. And who he is, is an advertising man. And so, this thing comes to him. There’s a way to see it in a completely cynical way, and say, “Wow, that’s awful.” But I think that for Don, it represents some kind of understanding and comfort in this incredibly unquiet, uncomfortable life that he has led."

LittlePurpleYoda said:

CarrieCee said:

LittlePurpleYoda said:

While I'm still annoyed by the ambiguity of the ending, here's what John Hamm had to say about it to The New York Times:

"I think there probably is [one correct answer]. But I think, like most stories that we go back to, that it’s a little bit ambiguous. We had talked about this ending for a long time and that was Matt [Weiner]’s image. I was struck by the poetry of it. I didn’t know what his plans were, to get Don to this meditative, contemplative place. I just knew that he had this final image in mind.

When we find Don in that place, and this stranger relates this story of not being heard or seen or understood or appreciated, the resonance for Don was total in that moment...

My take is that, the next day, he wakes up in this beautiful place, and has this serene moment of understanding, and realizes who he is. And who he is, is an advertising man. And so, this thing comes to him. There’s a way to see it in a completely cynical way, and say, “Wow, that’s awful.” But I think that for Don, it represents some kind of understanding and comfort in this incredibly unquiet, uncomfortable life that he has led."

This should help: http://www.hollywoodrepor...k_20150520 Yes, Don Draper created the Coke ad. The last scenes of the series features Don hugging a stranger at a retreat and meditating with hippies, before the episode cuts to the 1971 Coca-Cola "Hilltop" commercial. Viewers can infer that Don returns to McCann-Erickson and creates that ad. "I have never been clear, and I have always been able to live with ambiguities," said Weiner. "In the abstract, I did think, why not end this show with the greatest commercial ever made? In terms of what it means to people and everything, I am not ambiguity for ambiguity's sake. But it was nice to have your cake and eat it too, in terms of what is advertising, who is Don and what is that thing?" [Edited 5/21/15 8:30am]

Thanks. I was in the room.

My first impression was that it was perhaps too positive a finale. Everyone got a happy ending with Betty being the only one dealt a bad hand. But upon later reflection my criticism was due most likely to being accustomed to the downbeat finales I've seen within the past year--Breaking Bad, Boardwalk Empire and Sons of Anarchy--all of which ended badly for its antiheroes. It's good that Mad Men didn't follow that trend for Don Draper.

Roger and Marie--big yay! Pete and Trudy--thumbs up there too. Stan and Peggy--I really like the idea of them together and I buy that Stan has been carrying a torch for Peggy all this time, but her sudden reciprocation of his feelings felt contrived. (I was laughing out loud at her phone conversation with him though "What?? What?!?" ) Having said that, this is the same person that was in denial about being pregnant until she went into labor so maybe that last minute clarity about herself was actually in character.

Also notable was the cast who remained from the first season all made an appearance--Betty, Sally, Peggy, Pete, Roger, Joan, Ken, even Harry--while many regulars who joined the cast in later seasons--Megan, Ted, Henry, Dawn--were absent. Nice of the show to leave the dance with the dates it brought.

In summary, it becomes a better ending the more I think about it. Bravo.

[Edited 5/22/15 11:52am]

But what became of Bob.