Whether or not you’re a fan of AMC’s Mad Men (hint: you should be), much can be gleaned from its sleek, cigarette-smoking, day drinking world of advertising in the sixties. We’ve discussed various lessons that can be learned about presentation from the advertising industry, including advice from advertising guru David Oglivy and lessons from Mad Men’s very own hard drinking, cigarette slanging, adulterous, ad genius Don Draper. Indeed, many qualities of good advertising are also present in a good presentation: concision and brevity, most notably, as well as the importance of having an idea that resonates with your intended audience.
Don Draper’s pitch to Kodak in the season finale of Season 1 is a powerful tour de force. Nearly flawless in its delivery, the pitch is truly inspiring, and the epitome of an effective presentation. Try watching it without getting goosebumps or teary-eyed, we dare you. Don’s pitch serves as instant inspiration for anyone looking for a pick-me-up on a slow Monday morning.
This is That
As Don’s family is coming apart, thanks to his recent extramarital activities, he has an important meeting with his Kodak clients. They are looking for a compelling way to sell a new projector they have temporarily billed as ‘The Wheel’. He begins the meeting by turning off the lights and flipping through the projector filled with slides of photos of his family– Don with their newborn baby, the family on Christmas morning, him and Betty on New Year’s Eve, etc.
As Don clicks through the endearing images, he muses, “This device is not a spaceship. It’s a time machine. It goes backwards and forwards, and it takes us to a place where we ache to go again.” He expertly uses the power of analogy here, which we discussed in full last week. It’s an extremely powerful device, as it renders a specific, visual idea (complete with themes, connotations and nuances) in the audience’s mind. Before the pitch, the Kodak reps may have been on several different pages about how they think of the projector, but after Don’s gripping comparison, they immediately reflect on the same idea: a time machine.
The idea may have varying subtexts for each person, but it makes them feel something instantly and forcefully. “It’s not called ‘The Wheel,’” Don continues. “It’s called ‘The Carousel.’ It lets us travel around and around and back home again.” The use of analogy is everything here. In comparing this ordinary projector to a carousel, Don evokes nostalgia, melancholy and wistfulness. He evokes stirring emotion– emotion that motivates the audience to care and act– from a simple comparison.
It’s Personal
Don’s pitch to Kodak is highly personal, obviously so in the photos depicting intimate moments in his life, but also in that he nuances the pitch with emotion that is notably, his own. He says that one of his first bosses told him that the most important idea in advertising is newness, but that there’s also a deeper bond associated with a product: nostalgia. Don waxes poetic about that enigmatic emotion for a few moments, calling it “delicate but potent,” a “twinge in your heart, far more powerful than memory alone.”
These musings tug strongly at his audience’s heartstrings, especially in conjunction with the poignant family photos streaming one after the other. It’s clear that Don is speaking candidly and honestly, suggesting that this Kodak product has organically cultivated those emotions in him. Much of the pitch’s strength lies in its highly personal and emotional content, allowing the audience to easily connect with Don and trust in what he says.
Can You Feel This?
Don’s pitch is a little more than three minutes. It’s short and sweet, and offers an excellent example of how to effectively deliver a presentation. The pitch demonstrates the inherent power in having visual slides, and then speaking to them. Don speaks very slowly, almost in a cadence, and it’s clear that every word he utters has been carefully chosen. Nothing is superfluous.
He ends strongly and of course, with purpose. He presents the official pitch slide, deeming the product ‘The Carousel,’ and then quickly clicks to a final slide depicting him and Betty kissing on New Year’s– an appropriate, full circle ending to an emotional, poignant presentation.
Watch ‘The Carousel’ pitch in its entirety here.
