As it turns out, even Don Draper strikes out. (Well, in business, that is.)
A couple of episodes ago, the sharply dressed adman got dressed down by Conrad Hilton (as played by Chelcie Ross, above) for not delivering what the increasingly eccentric hotelier wanted—the moon.
While many Mad-o-philes argue online that Connie meant that literally—after all, he told Don that he planned to put a Hilton on the moon someday—I’m pretty sure it was a metaphor.
Draper’s presentation was “good,” but it didn’t deliver the “goodness” that Hilton wanted his growing hotel chain to represent.
Don was selling fluffy towels and ice water when Hilton was looking for a more culture-defining brand idea—something still a bit foreign in the whiter-than-white, slogan-slinging ’60s.
Like every creative who has endured a CEO’s histrionics, I know exactly how Don felt. It made me appreciate the kindest slap in the face I ever got:
“I just don’t love it as much as I would like to.”