For the Uninitiated Don Draper is a fictional character from the popular tv series Mad Men. He worked as a creative head in one of the top advertising agencies in New York in the 1960s.

 During the pandemic, I stumbled upon a show that made me change my perspective on marketing altogether. It inspired me a lot and made me realize that marketing and creativity go hand in glove. Although the show’s set in the 1960s, the teaching that I learned is still applicable in today’s era.

 Here are the 5 quotes of Don Draper that still resonates with today’s marketing:

  1.    “You are the product. You feel something. That is what sells”

Don always conveys that for you to sell the product, you must believe in it.

 It doesn’t matter how good your product is if it can’t connect with your audience. There should be an emotional attachment of your product with the consumer to sell it. However, to do so you must connect with the product itself to sell it.

  2.   “Spend 50 percent of your time writing your headline”

Make sure to spend enough time creating a catchy headline that drives engagement with your audience.

 The headline still takes the cake in luring the potential reader. If the headline makes the reader stop, take a moment, and notice then half of the battle is already won. Your target audience ought to correlate with your content.

   3.   “Think about it Deeply, then Forget it and an idea will Jump Up in your Face.”

Creativity and time constraints don't go hand-in-hand.

 You are faced with a deadline to submit creative ideas but your mind comes up empty. Well, this is the thing about creativity, you can think all you want but sometimes you need to let the ideas flow to you.

  4. “We are going to Sit at our Desks and Keep Typing While the Walls Fall Down Around Us because We are Creative…the Least Important Most Important Thing there is”

 Being creative is one of the most demanding and intense jobs.

 Although Companies believe that everything doesn’t revolve around creativity but they do hold substantial importance in driving sales of the Company indirectly.

 Especially in today’s time when the backbone of social media is content.

  5.  “Advertising is Based on One Thing: Happiness…”

"...And do you know what happiness is? Happiness is the smell of a new car. It’s freedom from fear. It’s a billboard on the side of a road that screams with reassurance that whatever you’re doing is ok. You are ok.”

 The quote itself sums it all up.

 All that advertisement does is put a smile on our face. The grin that tells us that this is the thing that I am looking for that would end my sorrows and bring me happiness.

 It’s an illusion that the materialistic pleasure of the world is enough to end my agony. This, my beloved people, is what advertising is.

Lastly, I would like to say that marketing isn’t something that can be learned.

Yes, there are some tried and tested principles applicable in the past, present, and future. The core also remains the same. However, the user remains the center of attraction which continues to evolve and based on whom all the changes take place.

 My parting two cents that I observed from the show, “customer is the king”. If you want to learn the tricks and trades of marketing, understand the needs, desires, and pain points of the user around whom the entire industry revolves. This is what Don stood for. He didn’t go to any fancy College to get an astute understanding of the consumer. All he ever did was to put himself in the shoes of the end-user and empathize, what do they want in pursuit of happiness?