Though the character-level subplots regarding Lane and Sally drive the
dramatic arc of episode 12, I’m focusing on the small pieces of history
referenced in “Commission and Fees.” In
particular, Don’s desire for bigger and more prestigious clients reveals key issues
about America in 1967.
Frustrated that the shenanigans surrounding Joan tainted the firm’s acquisition
of the Jaguar account, Don declares that he isn’t interested in a relatively
minor car company, telling Roger, “I want Chevy.” In doing so, Draper reminds us that the
American auto industry remained dominant in the 1960s, as Japanese, German, and
South Korean companies had not yet penetrated the U.S market. Chevrolet was G.M.’s biggest brand, and a
“Chevy” represented the epitome of a middle-class car before anyone had ever heard
of a Honda or a Toyota. When high oil
prices and concerns about the quality of American cars emerged in the 1970s, Japanese
brands started to break the long-held oligopoly of G.M., Ford and Chrysler.
In response to Don’s frustration, Sterling arranges a meeting with Ed
Baxter, the CEO of Dow Chemical, in the hopes of getting their business. Draper remains upset that Baxter told him the
firm wouldn’t be able to get certain clients because of “The Letter” Don wrote denouncing
tobacco after Lucky Strike left Sterling Cooper in season four. At the meeting, Roger tells Baxter that the
firm worked assiduously to hold the account but that “nobody’s going to be in
that business. The government is in the
process of killing it.” Sterling
exaggerates the weakness of Big Tobacco in the late 1960s. While the government mandated health warnings
on cartons after the release of the Surgeon General’s report in 1964, the new
legislation prevented the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from placing warnings
on cigarette advertisements as well. Though
bans on television ads were in the offing, many believed the federal government
had gone easy on the tobacco companies in the 1965 bill, largely bowing to the
political power of the industry.
Another Dow executive mentions that the company is the primary
manufacturer of napalm, an incendiary bomb used by the U.S. Army in Vietnam. At the time, napalm was drawing the ire of
the anti-war movement while causing civilian casualties that weakened the
military’s ability to win the “hearts and minds” of the people of South Vietnam. Even arch-conservative Roger responds, “You
mean that stuff those kids outside your building are screaming about?” By early 1967, the anti-war movement was
gaining momentum and increasingly targeting groups and organizations, such as
defense contractors and universities, who were assisting the military effort in
Southeast Asia. A majority of Americans still
supported the war and even those who opposed the war were often angered by the
countercultural behavior of segments of the movement, where long hair and drugs
were prevalent. Perhaps in hopes of acquiring
the account, Don espouses the more hawkish perspective, remarking, “The
important thing is when our boys are fighting and they need it…when America
needs it… Dow makes it and it works.”
Napalm figured in the most indelible representations of the era. 40 years ago this week, a photographer took a
picture of a nine-year old girl running naked from a napalm attack. Taken near the end of American involvement in
the conflict in 1972, the photograph became one of the iconic images of the
Vietnam War. In addition, Robert
Duvall’s character in Apocalypse Now
(1979) infamously declares, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.”
The last two episodes have witnessed dramatic turns of events, including
(SPOILERS) Joan’s liaison to acquire a client and Lane’s suicide. One can only imagine what Matt Weiner has
dreamed up for next week’s finale.
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