Episode Report Card Couch Baron: A | 3 USERS: A YOU GRADE IT A Lucky Strike
By Couch Baron | Season 1 | Episode 1 | Aired on 2007.07.19
After a close-up of some feminine fingers placing a cigarette into a holder, Roger and Don are pitching their ideas, one of which is a 10% off coupon in select ladies' magazines, which Don says will increase first-time visitors to Menken's. Rachel, however, informs him that they share a wall with Tiffany's, and she therefore doesn't think that a coupon is likely to be effective. I think a coupon for 10% off any item at Tiffany's when you shop at Menken's would be extremely successful, if only we could answer the question of what's in it for the peddlers of those dear blue-boxed items. Don, already a little taken aback, says that coupons work, and opines that Rachel's dad would agree with the strategy. Rachel counters by telling Don that while that might be true, it's definitely irrelevant, as the reason she's there instead of her father is that they just had their worst sales year ever. Pete smoothly cuts in, lighting Rachel's cigarette as he asks why she came to them, as there are a dozen other agencies more suited to her..."needs." Wow, actual tact from Pete! I confess that didn't leave a lasting impression on me. Rachel basically says that those agencies' thinking is just like her father's, and adds in Don's direction, "Their research favors coupons too!" Hee. Rachel's point is that she wants people in the store who are drawn to it because it's expensive. Maybe they could combine their ideas and distribute coupons with which you have to pay ten percent more. You don't need many takers to make that idea a winner! Don, getting more and more flustered, says they obviously have very different ideas, and Rachel pokes him with a stick, agreeing as she expresses her opinion that the customer is always right. She goes on that she was expecting better, as Sterling Cooper has a reputation for being innovative. That's it for Don, who tells Rachel she's way out of line. Damn straight -- no one calls Don Draper "innovative" and lives to talk about it! Despite Pete's and Roger's attempts to smooth things over, both Don's and Rachel's temper flares, and Don ends up standing and saying he's not going to let a woman talk to him like this and storming out, with Pete running after him. David wins the award for Non-Speaking Extra Of The Year when he reaches for the pitcher of Bloody Marys on the table, only to put it back after a look from Roger. I'm not sure what his problem is -- does he not want to pay David drinking rates?