Following up on Everything Tracy Jordan Said Seasons 1, 2, and 3, I figured I’d celebrate one of my other favorite shows by giving you Everything Don Draper Said Season 1 (Season 2 coming next week).

It’s over 10K words of Dreamy Don’s dialogue, and unfortunately there’s a more conversational lines than with Tracy Jordan. I was thinking about going through this and bolding the lines worth reading, but that turns this into more of a subjective exercise than I’m interested in. I hope you’ll call out your favorites in the comments, though, if you ever get to the end. I suggest you bookmark and come back, or print out and read on the commute. True Mad Men fans have just lost a morning of work. Enjoy!

Episode 1
“Yeah, hey, do you have a light? Old Gold man, huh?”
“Can I ask you a question? Why do you smoke Old Gold?”
“No, we’re actually just having a conversation, is that OK? Yeah. Do this again. Old Fashioned, please.”
“So you obviously need to relax after working here all night?”
“But what is it? I mean, low tar? Those new filters? Why don’t… why Old Gold?”
“So you’re used to them, is that it?”
“I could never get you to try another brand, say, my Luckies.”
“Alright, well, let’s just say, tomorrow, a tobacco weevil comes and eats, every last Old Gold on the planet.”
“It’s a tragedy, would you just stop smoking.”
“I love smoking, that’s very good.”
“Yeah, I heard about that.”
“Yes they do.”
“Am I interrupting anything?”
“How’s it going?”
“Can I run a few ideas past you?”
“I’m having a situation with my cigarette account.”
“Trade commission is cracking down on all of our health cares.”
“Well, that’s just it. The whole safer cigarette thing is over. No more doctors. No more testimonials. No more cough free, soothes your T zone, low tar, low nicotine, filter tip, nothing. All I have is a crush proof box and 4 out of 5 dead people smoked your brand.”
“I don’t want to go to school tomorrow.”
“Midge, I’m serious. I have nothing. I am over and they’re finally going to know it. Next time you see me they’ll be a bunch of young executives picking meat off my ribs.”
“What’s your secret?”
“We should get married.”
“I’m serious, you have your own business, you don’t mind when I come over.”
“What size Cadillac do you take?”
“Sterling’s having the tobacco people in in 9 hours and I have nothing.”
“You know there’s this kid who comes by my office everyday, looks where he’s going to put his plants.”
“It’s been on my mind.”
“You worried?”
“So, you, uh, came here cause you wanted to watch me get dressed?”
“In body, give me about a half hour for the rest of it.”
“Not on my watch.”
“We’ve got an Italian, Salvatore, my art director.”
“Sorry. Most of the Jewish guys work for the Jewish firms.”
“That’s very good.”
“You want me to run down to the deli, grab somebody?”
“Summer’s coming.”
“If I know these guys, you’re better off with a little sex appeal. Can you give me a woman in a bathing suit, put her next to your guy?”
“Give you a chance to get a real model.”
“Ah, I’m not really big on those things.”
“So. That’s it, huh? Relax?”
“Send her in.”
“I’m doing my own research.”
“The medical thing is dead, we understand that.”
“So basically, if you love danger, you’ll love smoking.”
“Freud, you say, what agency is he with?”
“Let me tell you something, Ms. Guttman.”
“Dr. Guttman. Psychology might be great at cocktail parties, but it so happens people were buying cigarettes before Freud was born. The issue isn’t why should people smoke, it’s why should people smoke Lucky Strike. Suggesting that our customers have a… what did you call it, a death wish? I just don’t see that on a billboard.”
“Just give me the damn report.”
“Oh, I’m sure I will. You’re the one who found all of our medical testimonials in the first place.”
“Has anyone else seen this?”
“Good. I don’t want to hear about it anymore. I’m sorry, I just find your whole approach perverse.”
“Sal, I’ll take that drink now.”
“He doesn’t know I’m sleeping in here, does he?”
“Who are you?”
“Would you , uh, you go out there and entertain him?”
“I see your point.”
“Send him in.”
“You are tough to take first thing in the morning, Pete.”
“Uh, she’s the new girl.”
“That’ll be all.”
“Oh, and sorry about Mr. Campbell here, he left his manners back at the fraternity house.”
“The future Mrs. Pete Campbell is a very lucky woman, when is the wedding again?”
“He sure did.”
“How old are you, Pete?”
“I bet the whole world looks like one great big brassier snap just waiting to be snapped, huh?”
“Campbell, we’re both men here, so I’m going to be direct.”
“Advertising is a very small world and when you do something like malign the reputation of a girl in the steno pool on her first day, you make it even smaller. Keep it up, and even if you do get my job, you’ll never run this place. You’ll die in that corner office, a mid-level executive with a little bit of hair who women go home with out of pity. Want to know why? Cause no one will like you.”
“Well, at least the building. Pleasure to meet you.”
“Oh, uh, I’m sorry. I was expecting.”
“And you are?”
“Of course, David, one of the rising stars at Sterling Cooper.”
“Very subtle, isn’t that your shirt?”
“Then, a 10% off coupon in select ladies magazines will increase your first time customers. Once we get them into the store, the rest is kind of up to you.”
“Ms. Mencken, coupons work. I think your father would agree with this strategy.”
“What kind of people do you want?”
“We obviously have very different ideas.”
“Ms, you are way out of line.”
“Talk out what, the silly idea that people are going to come to some store they’ve never been to because it’s more expensive?”
“Mencken’s is not Channel.”
“This is ridiculous, I’m not going to let a woman talk to me like this, this meeting is over. Good luck, Ms. Mencken.”
“Well, Roger’s not going to be happy, so I guess that’s good for you.”
“Look, I’m sorry I was so hard on you before, it’s just this damn tobacco thing.”
“Let’s take it a little slower, I don’t want to wake up pregnant.”
“Well, uh, I have been thinking quite a bit about this. And, uh. I mean you know I’m a Lucky Strike man from way back, so..”
“Gentleman, before you leave, can I just say something?”
“The Federal Trade Commission and Readers’ Digest have done you a favor. They’ve let you know that any ad that brings up the concept of cigarettes and health together, well, it’s just gonna make people think of cancer.”
“But what Lee Jr said is right. If you can’t make those health claims, neither can your competitors.”
“Not exactly, this is the greatest advertising opportunity since the invention of cereal. We have 6 identical companies making 6 identical products. We can say anything we want. How do you make your cigarettes?”
“There you go. There you go.”
“No, everybody else’s tobacco is poisonous. Lucky Strike’s is toasted.”
“Advertising is based on 1 thing: happiness. And you know what happiness is? It’s the smell of a new car, it’s freedom from fear. It’s a billboard, on the side of the road, that screams with reassurance that whatever you’re doing is OK. You are OK.”
“For the record, I pulled it out of thin air, so thank you up there.”
“I don’t know, uh, bunting and babies, that’s hard work. I’d make a hash of it.”
“Could you be a little more specific, honey?”
“Thank you, boys, I appreciate it.”
“I love to come through.”
“Haven’t you had enough of my magic for one day?”
“You’re a whore.”
“Peggy, would you get us a little more ice?”
“Just a minute. Fellas, I think this party is gonna have to move elsewhere.”
“I don’t know.”
“Maybe next time.”
“If Greta’s research was any good, I would have used it.”
“I’m saying, I had a report just like that, and it’s not like there’s some magic machine that makes identical copies of things.”
“Have a great night, Pete, congratulations.”
“Fear stimulates my imagination.”
“First of all, Peggy, I’m your boss, not your boyfriend. Second of all, you ever let Pete Campbell go through my trash again and you won’t be able to find a job selling sandwiches in Penn Station.”
“Of course not. Go home, put your curlers in, we’ll get a fresh start tomorrow. Oh, and Peggy, I need you to place a call.”
“That is quite a drink.”
“I shouldn’t have lost my temper and I certainly shouldn’t have treated you like anything less than a client.”
“So you understand?”
“Well, I’m not really as bad as all that. I was under a lot of pressure. Another account. It doesn’t really matter.”
“So, without making things worse, can I ask you a personal question?”
“Why aren’t you married?”
“Well, it’s just that you’re a beautiful, educated woman, don’t you think that getting married and having a family would make you happier than all the headaches that go along with fighting people like me?”
“So that’s it, you won’t get married because you find business to be a thrill.”
“She won’t get married because she’s never been in love. I think I wrote that and used it to sell nylons.”
“Oh you mean love, you mean big lightning bolt through the heart where you can’t eat and you can’t work and you just run of and get married and make babies. The reason you haven’t felt it is because it doesn’t exist. What you call love was invented by guys like me to sell nylons.”
“Pretty sure about it. You’re born alone and you die alone and this world just drops a bunch of rules on top of you to make you forget those facts, but I never forget. I’m living like there’s no tomorrow because there isn’t one.”
“Excuse me?”
“Don.”
“I don’t know if that’s true. You want another drink?”
“So I guess we’ll be seeing each other again.”
“I’d like that.”
“I didn’t want to bother you.”
“I’m not.”
“I’ll be right back, don’t move.”
Continue reading “Everything Don Draper Said Season 1” →