Reprinted with permission from www.hautetalk.com

At a partners’ meeting, everyone is sick of the full company name but nobody has an amenable solution except for Don, who suggests getting a bigger front door. Roger and Don bolt out of the meeting to catch a flight to Los Angeles where they will meet with the people from Carnation Instant Breakfast. Roger warns Don about being too folksy. They’re real Madison Avenue ad men, and ad men are expected to be slick and glib. Well, someone forgot to tell Harry Crane, who meets them at the hotel looking like a cartoon of a Hollywood executive.

Back at the office, the creatives are supposed to be working on the Manischewitz campaign, but the young men are agitated about the war. Ginsberg starts ranting about fascists and Nazis to his new boss, Jim Cutler. Jim speaks to Ted about the outburst and suggests that they clean house of all Sterling Cooper people while Don is away on business, but Ted nixes the idea. So Jim takes matters into his own hands and tells Bob Benson that he and Ginsberg will be giving the Manischewitz presentation without him, and good luck with that, Bob.

Joan, in a lovely and flattering flowered dress, meets with Andy Haze, the head of marketing at Avon. She thought it was a date, but it quickly turned into a meeting. He wants her to pitch the agency, and it’s the first time anyone has ever asked her to do more than paperwork. She speaks about media placement, and “finding your customers in places you didn’t think to look.” Joan explains that her job is finding solutions to problems before they become problems.

When she gets back to the office, she asks Peggy for advice on how to reel in the client. Peggy brings Joan to Ted, and Ted passes her off to Pete. Pete then tries to cut Joan out of the next meeting, which does not sit well with Joan. Silly Pete, never cross Joan. Or the streams. Joan shows up to the Avon meeting with Peggy but without Pete. She talks up Peggy’s experience with Clearasil, Ponds, and Belle Jolie. Andy explains that sales are flat because women aren’t home for house calls and hippies don’t wear makeup. Peggy’s pitch is not as smooth as Don’s, but it’s not awful, either. Afterwards, Joan is pissed at Peggy because Peggy feels that Joan just threw away the account. Joan explains that in the end it’s about who has the relationship with the client, and she had to make sure that it was her and not them.

Roger and Don’s meeting with Carnation is over before it even begins when Roger starts talking politics. Faux pas, Roger. Plus, Carnation is concerned about a conflict with Life Cereal. Add on top of that, the time difference between California and New York means their office will never be available when needed. With the meeting out of the way, Roger puts on his best Hugh Hefner outfit and goes to a Hollywood party with Harry and Don. Harry explains there is a different protocol in Hollywood, and suggests letting him make the introductions because “they don’t take business cards.” You know who else is at the party? Danny, that very short man who used to be related to Roger and worked at the agency for approximately one day. He seems to have done nicely for himself, with a tall lithe lady named Lotus on his arm. Don wanders into the house and settles in with a hash pipe while Roger tries to impress Lotus with his vast LSD experience. Danny then tries to collect his woman from Roger’s side and, after one too many short zingers from Roger, punches Roger in the nuts.

The party is going much better for Don, who has his lips all over a lovely blonde. Then in walks someone who looks like Megan but is probably just a byproduct of Don’s hash haze. She’s blathering on about quitting her job and moving to Los Angeles because she can’t bear to be apart from him and oh, also? She’s pregnant. Of course it’s not really Megan, and Don follows one ghost to another—it’s a man in uniform who is probably Dick Whitman. Then, Don is face down in the swimming pool, and it’s Roger to the rescue.

Bob Benson gets called into the creative department. Ginsberg is sick and can’t go to the meeting. Or, Ginsberg won’t go to the meeting. It’s hard to tell. He’s having a major meltdown, and Benson tries to talk him back into reality. With Ginsberg talking about transmissions in his head, I’m wondering what type of medication Ginsberg needs that has not yet been invented. He eventually gets Ginsberg to the meeting, but it doesn’t matter. There was no saving the account. The Manischewitz meeting was a courtesy, and they barely listened to the presentation. When Ted finds out, he’s angry with Jim for skipping out on the meeting and thinks that Jim intentionally lost a Sterling Cooper account to further split the agency.

Pete asks to see Joan in the conference room about a box of samples that Avon sent over to the girls. He demands to know what’s going on, and when Joan tries to calm him down by saying that the important thing is that the new client is happy, Pete resorts to his usual, “Oh I bet you’re making him very happy.” Oh, Pete. Never get into a war of words with Joan. She lets Pete know that, “it’s better than being screwed by you.” Peggy shows up, and Pete brings in Ted as backup. Ted excuses Peggy who listens in from Joan’s office on the other side of the wall. When things get ugly, Peggy sends Meredith into the conference room with a phone message that Andrew Haze from Avon is on the phone for Joan. When Joan goes into her office, she sees that Peggy saved her. Maybe now Joan will finally realize that she and Peggy are on the same team.

Don and Roger return from Los Angeles and Pete immediately pounces to rat out Joan. But Pete is upstaged by Ted, who announces that they have finally received approval from Chevy on a concept, and Joan is on the verge of reeling in Avon. Then, Ted and Jim propose calling the agency Sterling Cooper and Partners so that both sides get equally screwed. SC&P. Well, it’s certainly better than SCDPCG&C. After having his thunder stolen, Pete wanders into the creative department and bogarts a joint.

Next week, Don pours a drink, Megan wears amazing red pants, and Peggy is in a tragic green suit.

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