Every time you say “and then”
There were many moments in the show Mad Men that changed me. One especially sticky moment was a scene in Don’s office. It seemed to slip by everyone unnoticed. You can’t find any mentions of it online or clips on YouTube. In fact, I had to grab the picture above by pulling up the episode myself.
But this one line was a flawless illustration of a truth that every content creator, every creative director, every corporate comms person should live by.
S3E10, 6ish minutes in: Kinsey, Peggy, and Harry Crane were excited to walk Don through their concept for an Aqua Net hairspray commercial.
Kinsey: This was my thought. Aqua Net is about hold, but it's also about beauty.
So, we're driving. Two couples. I call it "Double Date. "
The woman in the back's scarf blows off and her hair starts blowing. Her hairdo falls apart - Oh, no!
And then the woman in front takes off her scarf and hands it back to the woman in the back.
Peggy: (handing her scarf to the girl in the back) Take mine
Kinsey: And he says, "Are you sure, Marcia?" Marcia's hair is perfect. And then her date gives her a knowing smile of admiration on her confident smile. "Aqua Net. Arrive in style. "
Don: Too much story. Every time I hear, "And then," there's another chance for the ladies at home to misunderstand.
“Every time I hear, ‘and then’ there’s another chance for the [audience] to misunderstand.”
If you blinked, you missed it.
That line inked a tattoo onto my brain that has made me relentless about rendering concepts so simple that they almost seem too simple. This is why I’m so obsessed with splitting content into lots of different pieces and not cramming every idea into one thing.
Making stories overly complicated is easy. But simple? Simple is hard.
