Would Don Draper Survive Today’s World of Marketing?

April 21, 2015: In the world of Mad Men, technology gradually invades advertising in Season 2 with Sterling Cooper buzzing over the addition of the Xerox copy machine. It seriously ruffles feathers when the agency buys an IBM System/360 during Season 5, causing leading copywriter character Michael Ginsberg to go insane and be carried out in a straight jacket yelling, “It’ll take us one by one!” Even Don Draper’s experience with the computer installer sounded like he was confronting the devil when he said, “You go by many names.”

Don Draper is an idea man; he persuades people with “aspirational advertising” rooted in the desire for a higher status in life. To this day, most luxury brands are sold this way, using a combination of creativity and psychology. Nowadays, technology, creativity, psychology and vision are the most important spokes in the advertising wheel.

Draper would thrive in the digital space, not on the technical side, but on the online creative side. The ideas that Draper pulls out of thin air still apply at today’s agency brainstorm sessions. I can envision him being the go-to for the most compelling title and premise of an online advertising campaign. He would find the effective way, through messaging and visuals, to elicit the customer emotion. However, Draper would have to expand his lineup of advertising tactics and tools, to see how his innovative ideas would translate on all different mediums (broadcast, print, online, email marketing, social media, search engines, and more).

While the Mad Men characters have experienced their share of demanding and incorrigible clients through the seasons, they would have to re-learn client relations due to the digital mindset of today’s customers – who have way more smarts when it comes to advertising and promoting their brands. Clients today are looking for specific return on investment, and that usually comes down to measurements and analytics. Modern marketers have to be ready, with internal and external data, social media analytics, and solid proof that a particular campaign is actually working. Don would struggle, at first, with having to provide these types of results and positive outcomes. However, I believe he would quickly realize that this clear evidence in analytics will demonstrate and help him understand exactly why customers love or hate a brand, and how to change the course of a campaign if needed.

There are numerous challenges facing today’s advertising creatives – every single day. While more time, tactics, strategy, bandwidth and versatility are needed today, I still believe Don Draper would excel.  His skillset in creativity, design and psychology would win clients over. It is in his DNA, which technology can never replace. And, his charismatic charm wouldn’t hurt either!