Having previously worked my way through The Sopranos, The West Wing, Breaking Bad and Boardwalk Empire, Mad Men is the latest US TV export to consume virtually all of my time away from the studio.

By joining the party late I’ve had to rely on Sky’s TV Box Sets to get to the point I’m at now, entering Mad Men’s final season. Although the first seven episodes have already aired I’m holding off while the show is on its mid-season break, set to conclude its run in April.

Six seasons in however, I can safely say that the show ranks alongside the small screen heavyweights I’ve previously committed to. Unlike the others though it’s also provided an unexpected sense of professional familiarity; deja vu even.

Mad Men’s narrative centres around the life of Don Draper, a Creative Director at one of Madison Avenue’s smaller advertising agencies, Sterling Cooper. Although the show takes us back 50 or so years into the past, it’s the events that unfold in the day in the life of an ad man that drew surprising comparisons with working in the digital industry today, and it seems I’m not the first to have noticed.

The Pitch

Everyone else’s tobacco is poisonous, Lucky Stripe is toasted.

The pitching process was something I’d never experienced until we founded We Are Empire back in 2011. We’ve therefore had to treat each invitation as somewhat of a learning experience, finding our feet and figuring out the right blend of creative, research and strategy along the way.

Four years down the line and pitching for new business is now commonplace. We’ve won some, lost some, even turned down some when the brief wasn’t quite right for us.

Watching Mad Men though, it does take me back to the moments just before entering a room to discuss a potentially game changing project. While I can’t say I’ve ever prepared by polishing off half a bottle of bourbon and filling my lungs with an entire pack of cigarette smoke, the unique blend of anticipation, nerves and excitement is certainly well reflected in the show.

Although we as an agency always enter a new pitch with confidence and assurance, the nerves are a part of human nature that I personally have never been able to shake. In those moments I consider Don’s arrogant statement: “Just put me in a room with them,” and wonder how that level of confidence affects pitch performance, but quickly remember its varying outcomes!

The Client

The day you sign a new client is the day you start losing them.

Throughout my seven plus years in the industry, I’ve heard a lot of people say something along the lines of: “This would be the best job in the world if it wasn’t for the clients” - which is obviously absurd.

Clients provide the opportunities, challenges, not to mention funding that allows us to stretch ourselves in our chosen disciplines. Creating the perfect solution to a brief, and adapting our work to suit a client’s unique requirements is what makes our jobs different everyday, and encourages us to raise our games.

There are undoubtedly however, times when we can get frustrated with a client’s thoughts or feedback, as played out brilliantly in Mad Men.

Peggy Olson’s breakdown during a meeting with Heinz that culminates in the line: “I don’t think there’s anything to do but work through 100 versions of ‘no!’” takes me back to a client’s rejection to what you were sure was a winning concept.

Jumping back into the real world though, this is the crucial time that you have to work side-by-side with the client to reach your project goals together. While there may be part of you that wants to channel your inner Draper and push a client to the point of firing your own agency (as in the case of Jaguar), sanity should normally prevail.

Instead it’s time to make the client an integral part of the process, and remind them why they chose to engage with you in the first place, as excellently explained by Paul Boag in Smashing Magazine recently.

The Creative Process

Peggy, just think about it. Deeply. Then forget it. And an idea will jump up in your face.

Whatever your medium: digital, print, TV, the common thread is creativity, and the value of a great idea.

What experience has taught me though is that the last place to look for that idea is sat at your desk, staring at a computer screen. It just doesn’t work that way. And it seems Don Draper agrees.

Don’s typical day involves an unspecified number of naps on his office sofa, going to the movies and of course, copious amounts of alcohol.

While the drinking proves more times than not to be detrimental to his creative performance, the less than regimented day at the office helps him thrive and create some truly memorable campaigns.

Although we’re yet to have an office party end with a ride-on lawnmower maiming one of our employees, or a marijuana fuelled sing off, here at Empire we also advocate a relaxed atmosphere in the belief that it produces the best work.

If things just aren’t flowing then go for a walk. Watch a movie. Play a computer game. Or throw some darts to clear your head. Our Creative Director Stuart is a big believer in the best of ideas coming to you at the oddest of times and places, which for him is invariably in the shower.

Back to Reality

Get out of here and move forward. This never happened. It will shock you how much it never happened.

Things have come a long way since the days of Mad Men, as this Shutterstock collection brilliantly illustrates. Thankfully sexism and racism are no longer commonplace in a creative agency studio. Meetings with our clients no longer take place through a thick cloud of cigarette smoke. The vessels for grabbing the public’s attention have shifted from print and radio to digital and on demand video.

But some elements of working in the digital industry have remained (relatively) similar to Matthew Weiner’s interpretation of the ad men of Madison Avenue. Something I find strangely reassuring about what we do.