Mad Men: Maidenform

February 7th, 2009

Season 2, Episode 6

Mad Men: Maidenform

Synopsis

Playtex requests a new campaign from Sterling Cooper. Duck’s former wife stops by the office to drop off their two children and dog, Chauncey. Meanwhile, Pete, Peggy, and Sal brainstorm ideas for Clearasil, with Pete aggressively pushing his own ideas over Peggy’s – his father-in-law is a Clearasil executive.

Don and Betty attend a country club fashion event, where Betty runs into Arthur from the stables. He hasn’t seen her since their confrontation, to which Betty replies they should just be friends. As models traipse out in swimsuits, Don ducks out to set up a rendezvous with Bobbie.

Pete informs Peggy that his father-in-law did like their ideas and tries to have a casual conversation. Peggy politely brushes him off.

Roger asks Don to reconcile with Duck after the American Airlines debacle. Meanwhile, Duck learns his ex-wife is re-marrying and he’ll have to take care of Chauncey.

Paul and the office guys have come up with something for Playtex: blond / brunette, presenting women as either “Marilyn” or “Jackie.” After the meeting, Peggy worries that she’s being left out of business decisions, since this idea was hatched at a bar after work.

Don stops by Duck’s office to make peace. He requests more support of his ideas. Duck insists pursuing American Airlines was a positive, as it positioned Sterling Cooper as an aggressive agency. They tensely agree to work together.

Later, Bobbie and Don meet in a hotel room.

Ken starts casting women to model Playtex bras. Pete flirts with one of them, resulting in a late-night fling at her apartment.

Betty serves breakfast in a yellow bikini. Don doesn’t like it, calling it immodest.

Joan advises Peggy to take herself more seriously and dress like a woman instead of a girl.

Don presents the Jackie / Marilyn idea to Playtex. They praise its creativity, but choose to remain with their current campaign. After the meeting, everyone agrees to meet for drinks at a strip club.

Duck tries to sneak some liquor, betraying a drinking problem. After being stared at by Chauncey, he abandons the sorry dog on a night sidewalk.

While Bobbie and Don are going at it, she lets slip that he has a caddish reputation among her women friends. Bothered, Don ties Bobbie to the bed and abandons her for home.

At the strip club, Peggy arrives, dressed much more maturely in a blue dress, and sits on the lap of one of the Playtex executives. Pete stares disapprovingly from a few seats away.

The next morning, Sally watches her father shave. She says she won’t talk so Don won’t cut himself. He asks her to leave, and then wipes shaving cream off his face. Something is bothering him.

Thoughts

Style

The opening song is The Infanta by The Decemberists. Pete mentions the movie The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Peggy is compared to writer Gertrude Stein and actress Irene Dunne.

Then And Now

No toothpicks: The swimsuit models have noticeably curvy figures.
Swimsuits: Betty’s swimsuit is seriously, no big deal by today’s standards.

Advertising

Both Playtex and Maidenform are real women’s underwear companies.

Developments

Duck’s awkward encounter with Don sets some wheels in motion that won’t settle later in the season. His inability to work with Don is surely part of why his loyalty to Sterling Cooper will prove to only go so far. And his cruel treatment of Chauncey? This is a selfish man.

While the Sterling Cooper men jokingly label the office ladies as Jackie or Marilyn, their behavior this episode demonstrates constant stereotyping of women. Don chastises Betty for the yellow bikini while continues an affair with Bobbie, expecting his wife to be a Jackie while he sleeps with a Marilyn. Peggy defies her stereotype by appearing in more feminine attire at the strip club, which bothers Pete.

In the episode’s final moments, Sally says she’ll be quiet, which is what Don ordered Bobbie to do earlier – stop talking. Then there’s the earlier moment where Don looks upon Sally’s face as he undeservedly receives applause for being a war hero, and Sally’s sampling of liquor at the office. As Don gazes upon his mirrored double, he appears to finally realize that his wayward ways may be having a negative effect on his children.

This realization may explain the episode’s name “maiden, form” – being molded into the archetypes of a Jackie or Marilyn – a wife or an object of desire. Young girls, still unformed, could be Peggy, Sally, or the “infanta” referenced in the opening scene’s music.

Next Episode: The Gold Violin
Previous Episode: The New Girl

TV Shows: Mad Men

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