Public Relations (Mad Men)
Encyclopedia
"Public Relations" is the season premiere of the fourth season of the American television drama series Mad Men
, and the 40th overall episode of the series. It was written by series creator and executive producer Matthew Weiner
, and directed by Phil Abraham
. It originally aired on AMC in the United States on July 25, 2010. The episode takes place in November 1964, as the advertisement agency Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce has just started up, and Don Draper
(Jon Hamm) is struggling with his divorce. The agency partners are concerned about the narrow nature of their client base, which is not helped by Don coming across as less than sympathetic in an interview with a trade magazine. Peggy Olson
(Elisabeth Moss
) attempts a viral marketing
stunt to bring back a disgruntled client, with unexpected repercussions. Meanwhile, Don's ex-wife Betty
(January Jones
) is struggling to fit in with her new family, and Don encounters problems in his romantic life.
"Public Relations" was heavily promoted in the weeks leading up to its airing, with an endorsement by President Obama
and product tie-in by Mattel
toys helping with publicity. Weiner expressed displeasure with what he considered a media revelation of plot details, though other journalists called his objections unwarranted. "Public Relations" was critically acclaimed by television critics, who expressed that the series returned to form. Upon airing, the episode was viewed by 2.92 million viewers and attained a 0.9 rating in the 18-49 demographic, according to Nielson ratings.
. Don
(Jon Hamm) responds brusquely, refusing to answer any of the reporter's personal questions. As a result, he comes across as arrogant in the published story, a fact that fellow partner Roger Sterling
(John Slattery
) laments. The effects of the bad publicity is brought home when a Jai Alai
special, just sold to ABC
by Harry Crane (Rich Sommer
), is pulled because Don did not mention the client in his interview. The loss of the client is bad news, because of the agency's narrow client base, where Lucky Strike
makes up 71%. Bertram Cooper (Robert Morse
) suggests Draper do an interview with The Wall Street Journal
to make amends, but Don demurs. Meanwhile, Peggy Olson
(Elisabeth Moss
) comes up with an idea to regain the Sugarberry Ham account. She hires two actresses to fight over a ham in a grocery store. The plan goes awry when the fight turns real, and Peggy has to ask Don for bail and hush money. Don is not happy about the stunt being carried out without his approval, but Peggy points out that they did retain the account.
On the domestic front, Don is settling in as a bachelor after last season's divorce from his wife Betty
(January Jones
). Roger sets him up on a date with a friend of his wife Jane. After the date, the girl, Bethany, expresses interest in seeing Don again, but rejects his sexual advances. Don is reduced to spending Thanksgiving
with a prostitute, whom he asks to slap him across the face. Betty, meanwhile, is having problems fitting in with the family of her new husband Henry (Christopher Stanley). At Thanksgiving dinner with his family, Betty's daughter Sally (Kiernan Shipka
) makes a scene when she complains about the food. Henry's mother later privately expresses displeasure with her son's new wife. The next day, Don picks up his two oldest children for an overnight visit. When he returns the next evening, the house is empty and he has to wait for Betty and Henry to come back. When they return, an argument ensues about the house. Don demands that they move out of the house for which he is still paying mortgage.
A different client, brought in by Pete Campbell
(Vincent Kartheiser
), express concern about the increasingly lascivious nature of the swimsuit business. The client, Janzten swimwear
, asks for help to maintain a family-friendly image in a field where bikini
s are becoming more common and more revealing. Don tries to sell a pitch where the model's breasts are covered by the slogan, reading "So well built, we can't show you the second floor". The Jantzen representatives find the ad offensive, and are not impressed at all. Don is exasperated by the clients refusing to acknowledge a changing culture and the realities of the business they are in, and ends up throwing the men out of the meeting room. As they leave, he finally agrees to do the Journal interview. As the episode ends, Don is seen conversing with the journalist in a much more outgoing fashion. "I could die of boredom or holster up my guns." he says, "So I walked into Lane Pryce's office and I said, 'Fire us.' Within a year, we'd taken over two floors of the Time-Life Building."
, and Janie Bryant
, the show's costume designer, collaborated with QVC
to design a clothing line inspired by mod subculture. President Barack Obama
, a fan of Mad Men, had sent series creator Matthew Weiner a letter to express his admiration. Attention was further boosted by the release of a series of Barbie
dolls based on characters from the show by toy manufacturer Mattel
. A week prior to the premiere of the episode, Crista Flanagan
posed nude for Playboy.
Screenings for the episode was shown in Los Angeles, California
on July 21, 2010, and again five days later at Duffy Square
in New York City
an hour before it was televised nationwide. An estimated 10,000 people appeared at the screening in New York City. The designs of costumes were altered, according to Bryant, to reflect the general fashion development and changes in mainstream pop culture during the 1960s. In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle
, she teased: "My characters are in an office environment in New York; it's very different from what was going on in London at the time. But there will be some progression in their costumes, just like in real life.
The press were given advanced copies of the episode. Matthew Weiner pronounced himself shocked by what he considered spoilers
in the review. Weiner criticized the episode's review by the New York Times, expressing that the publication revealed too much information. He continued: "I'm kind of powerless. It's the bargain you make. I wanted to have press, and it was nice to get that kind of space with those pictures. The alternative is not to share these things with the press any more – but how can you expect journalists to write about the show if you don’t? It was all very disappointing to me.
"Public Relations" features several references to media, music, film, and other pop culture phenomenon. Peggy and a coworker engage in a humorous conversation, in which they subsequently refer to "John & Marsha" by Stan Freberg
. The episode depicts the growing acceptance of the bikini
in mainstream popular culture in the United States during the 1960s.
The episode was critically acclaimed by television critics. Alessandra Stanley of the New York Times opined, "Those cues also hold out the promise that the coming season will once again pivot the story on the workplace. It’s where Mad Men started and where it was best. A fresh start at the rat race is just what the series needs." Eric Goldman of IGN
gave the episode a nine out of ten, signifying an "amazing" rating. Goldman felt that it start of the season on a strong note, writing, "It's a clever beat to start out with, leading into a strong premiere that quickly drops us into what can be described as Mad Men 2.0." Praise was also directed to the musical selection of the episode, which Goldman described as excellent. In concurrence, Keith Phipps of The A.V. Club
gave the episode an 'A' grade, praising the character development of Don Draper and Peggy Olsen. Expressing that she had more confidence, Phipps said of Peggy: "[She's] the person who's changed most notably over the last year. She drinks at work like the boys and [...] goes into a Don-like trance as she searches for inspiration. She bosses Joey around and tells him when he’s gone too far. And she’s not afraid to get creative to sell ham and wants credit for her idea, even if it encounters a minor disaster along the way. Most significantly, she’s standing up to Don at every turn now. He bullies her in front of her fiancé but hears about it later. And she provides a devastating mixture of admiration and chiding when she reminds Don that everyone at SCDP is there because of him and out of a desire to make him happy." Similarly, James Poniewozik
of Time
praised the performance of Elizabeth Moss, exclaiming that "she has come a long way."
TV Fanatic Dan Forcella felt that "Public Relations" was an fantastic episode, and asserted: "All in all it was a great start to the fourth season of Mad Men." In conclusion, Forcella gave the episode a 4.5 out of 5 stars. The Wall Street Journal
journalist Cheryl Berman opined that the episode had a "little bit of everything we love about Mad Men." William Bradley wrote in The Huffington Post
that the series got off to "a cracking start" with "Public Relations". Similarly, Scott D. Pierce of the Deseret News found it to be "a very good episode and a very promising restart", after what he considered a disappointing third season.
Mad Men
Mad Men is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The series premiered on Sunday evenings on the American cable network AMC and are produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007, and completed its fourth season on October 17, 2010. Each...
, and the 40th overall episode of the series. It was written by series creator and executive producer Matthew Weiner
Matthew Weiner
Matthew Weiner is an American writer, director and producer of television drama. He is the creator, executive producer, head writer, and show runner of the AMC television series Mad Men. He is also noted for his work on the HBO series The Sopranos, on which he served as a writer and producer...
, and directed by Phil Abraham
Phil Abraham
Phil Abraham is an American film and television cinematographer and director. He worked on all six seasons of The Sopranos, initially as a camera operator, then as a cinematographer and eventually as an episodic director...
. It originally aired on AMC in the United States on July 25, 2010. The episode takes place in November 1964, as the advertisement agency Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce has just started up, and Don Draper
Don Draper
Donald "Don" Draper is a fictional character and the protagonist of AMC's television series Mad Men. He is portrayed by 2008 Golden Globe winner Jon Hamm. Until the third season finale, Draper was Creative Director of Manhattan advertising firm Sterling Cooper...
(Jon Hamm) is struggling with his divorce. The agency partners are concerned about the narrow nature of their client base, which is not helped by Don coming across as less than sympathetic in an interview with a trade magazine. Peggy Olson
Peggy Olson
Margaret "Peggy" Olson is a fictional character in the AMC television series Mad Men, and is portrayed by actress Elisabeth Moss. Initially, Peggy is secretary to Don Draper , creative director of the advertising agency Sterling Cooper. Later, she is promoted to copywriter, the first female writer...
(Elisabeth Moss
Elisabeth Moss
Elisabeth Singleton Moss is an American actor. Her notable roles include that of Zoey Bartlet, the third and youngest daughter of President Jed Bartlet, on the NBC television series The West Wing , and secretary turned copywriter Peggy Olson on the AMC original series Mad Men .-Early life and...
) attempts a viral marketing
Viral marketing
Viral marketing, viral advertising, or marketing buzz are buzzwords referring to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses...
stunt to bring back a disgruntled client, with unexpected repercussions. Meanwhile, Don's ex-wife Betty
Betty Draper
Elizabeth "Betty" Francis is a fictional character on AMC's television series Mad Men, portrayed by January Jones...
(January Jones
January Jones
January Kristen Jones is an American actress. She is best known for playing Betty Draper on Mad Men.-Early life:...
) is struggling to fit in with her new family, and Don encounters problems in his romantic life.
"Public Relations" was heavily promoted in the weeks leading up to its airing, with an endorsement by President Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
and product tie-in by Mattel
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
toys helping with publicity. Weiner expressed displeasure with what he considered a media revelation of plot details, though other journalists called his objections unwarranted. "Public Relations" was critically acclaimed by television critics, who expressed that the series returned to form. Upon airing, the episode was viewed by 2.92 million viewers and attained a 0.9 rating in the 18-49 demographic, according to Nielson ratings.
Plot
The episode opens with the question "Who is Don Draper?", asked by a reporter from the magazine Advertising AgeAdvertising Age
Advertising Age is a magazine, delivering news, analysis and data on marketing and media. The magazine was started as a broadsheet newspaper in Chicago in 1930...
. Don
Don Draper
Donald "Don" Draper is a fictional character and the protagonist of AMC's television series Mad Men. He is portrayed by 2008 Golden Globe winner Jon Hamm. Until the third season finale, Draper was Creative Director of Manhattan advertising firm Sterling Cooper...
(Jon Hamm) responds brusquely, refusing to answer any of the reporter's personal questions. As a result, he comes across as arrogant in the published story, a fact that fellow partner Roger Sterling
Roger Sterling
Roger Sterling, Jr., played by John Slattery, is a fictional character on the AMC TV series Mad Men. He formerly worked for Sterling Cooper, an advertising agency his father co-founded in 1923, before he became a founding partner at the new firm of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce in late...
(John Slattery
John Slattery
John M. Slattery, Jr. is an American actor and director, best known for his role as Roger Sterling on AMC's series Mad Men. He has been nominated for many awards, and has won two SAG Awards with the Mad Men ensemble....
) laments. The effects of the bad publicity is brought home when a Jai Alai
Jai alai
Jai alai is a sport involving a ball bounced off a walled space. It is a variety of Basque Pelota. The term, coined by Serafin Baroja in 1875, is also often loosely applied to the fronton where the sport is played...
special, just sold to ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
by Harry Crane (Rich Sommer
Rich Sommer
Richard Olen Sommer II is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Harry Crane on the AMC series Mad Men.-Career:...
), is pulled because Don did not mention the client in his interview. The loss of the client is bad news, because of the agency's narrow client base, where Lucky Strike
Lucky Strike
Lucky Strike is a brand of cigarette owned by the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and British American Tobacco groups. Often referred to as "Luckies", Lucky Strike was the top selling cigarette in the United States during the 1930s.- History :...
makes up 71%. Bertram Cooper (Robert Morse
Robert Morse
Robert Morse is an American actor and singer. Morse is best known for his appearances in musicals and plays on Broadway. He has also acted in movies and television shows. His best known role is that of J. Pierrepont Finch in the 1961 Broadway musical, and 1967 film How to Succeed in Business...
) suggests Draper do an interview with The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
to make amends, but Don demurs. Meanwhile, Peggy Olson
Peggy Olson
Margaret "Peggy" Olson is a fictional character in the AMC television series Mad Men, and is portrayed by actress Elisabeth Moss. Initially, Peggy is secretary to Don Draper , creative director of the advertising agency Sterling Cooper. Later, she is promoted to copywriter, the first female writer...
(Elisabeth Moss
Elisabeth Moss
Elisabeth Singleton Moss is an American actor. Her notable roles include that of Zoey Bartlet, the third and youngest daughter of President Jed Bartlet, on the NBC television series The West Wing , and secretary turned copywriter Peggy Olson on the AMC original series Mad Men .-Early life and...
) comes up with an idea to regain the Sugarberry Ham account. She hires two actresses to fight over a ham in a grocery store. The plan goes awry when the fight turns real, and Peggy has to ask Don for bail and hush money. Don is not happy about the stunt being carried out without his approval, but Peggy points out that they did retain the account.
On the domestic front, Don is settling in as a bachelor after last season's divorce from his wife Betty
Betty Draper
Elizabeth "Betty" Francis is a fictional character on AMC's television series Mad Men, portrayed by January Jones...
(January Jones
January Jones
January Kristen Jones is an American actress. She is best known for playing Betty Draper on Mad Men.-Early life:...
). Roger sets him up on a date with a friend of his wife Jane. After the date, the girl, Bethany, expresses interest in seeing Don again, but rejects his sexual advances. Don is reduced to spending Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
with a prostitute, whom he asks to slap him across the face. Betty, meanwhile, is having problems fitting in with the family of her new husband Henry (Christopher Stanley). At Thanksgiving dinner with his family, Betty's daughter Sally (Kiernan Shipka
Kiernan Shipka
Kiernan Brennan "Kiki" Shipka is an American child actress noted for playing Don and Betty Draper's daughter Sally on the AMC series Mad Men.-Career:...
) makes a scene when she complains about the food. Henry's mother later privately expresses displeasure with her son's new wife. The next day, Don picks up his two oldest children for an overnight visit. When he returns the next evening, the house is empty and he has to wait for Betty and Henry to come back. When they return, an argument ensues about the house. Don demands that they move out of the house for which he is still paying mortgage.
A different client, brought in by Pete Campbell
Pete Campbell
Peter "Pete" Campbell is a fictional character on AMC's television series Mad Men. He is portrayed by Vincent Kartheiser.-Biography:...
(Vincent Kartheiser
Vincent Kartheiser
Vincent Paul Kartheiser is an American actor known for playing Connor in Angel and Pete Campbell in Mad Men.-Early life:Kartheiser was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of Janet Marie and James Ralph Kartheiser...
), express concern about the increasingly lascivious nature of the swimsuit business. The client, Janzten swimwear
Jantzen
Jantzen is a brand of swimwear that was established in 1916 and first appeared in the city of Portland, Oregon, United States. The brand name later replaced the name of the parent company that manufactured the branded products...
, asks for help to maintain a family-friendly image in a field where bikini
Bikini
The bikini is typically a women's two-piece swimsuit. One part of the attire covers the breasts and the other part covers the crotch and part of or the entire buttocks, leaving an uncovered area between the two. Merriam–Webster describes the bikini as "a woman's scanty two-piece bathing suit" or "a...
s are becoming more common and more revealing. Don tries to sell a pitch where the model's breasts are covered by the slogan, reading "So well built, we can't show you the second floor". The Jantzen representatives find the ad offensive, and are not impressed at all. Don is exasperated by the clients refusing to acknowledge a changing culture and the realities of the business they are in, and ends up throwing the men out of the meeting room. As they leave, he finally agrees to do the Journal interview. As the episode ends, Don is seen conversing with the journalist in a much more outgoing fashion. "I could die of boredom or holster up my guns." he says, "So I walked into Lane Pryce's office and I said, 'Fire us.' Within a year, we'd taken over two floors of the Time-Life Building."
Production
"Public Relations" was heavily advertised in the weeks prior to its broadcasting. Producers of the series' entered into a cross-promotional deal with Banana RepublicBanana Republic
Banana Republic is an American clothing brand founded by Mel and Patricia Ziegler in 1978 as a travel-themed clothing company; it has subsequently largely eliminated this tropical or travel-related theme. The company was bought by Gap in 1983...
, and Janie Bryant
Katherine Jane Bryant
Katherine Jane Bryant is an American television costume designer.Her most notable work is in the HBO Western series Deadwood, for which she was awarded the Emmy Award for Outstanding Costumes for a Series in 2005...
, the show's costume designer, collaborated with QVC
QVC
QVC is a multinational corporation specializing in televised home shopping. Founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel in West Goshen Township, Pennsylvania, United States, QVC broadcasts in five countries as QVC US, QVC UK, QVC Germany, QVC Japan and – QVC Italy to 200 million households...
to design a clothing line inspired by mod subculture. President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, a fan of Mad Men, had sent series creator Matthew Weiner a letter to express his admiration. Attention was further boosted by the release of a series of Barbie
Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by the American toy-company Mattel, Inc. and launched in March 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration....
dolls based on characters from the show by toy manufacturer Mattel
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
. A week prior to the premiere of the episode, Crista Flanagan
Crista Flanagan
Crista Flanagan is an American comedic actress best known for her work as a cast member on the FOX sketch comedy series MADtv from 2005 to 2009 and for her recurring role as Lois Sadler on the AMC series Mad Men.-Early life:...
posed nude for Playboy.
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
on July 21, 2010, and again five days later at Duffy Square
Duffy Square
Duffy Square is the northern triangle of Times Square in Manhattan, New York City. It is located between 45th and 47th Streets, Broadway and Seventh Avenue and is well known for the TKTS reduced-price theater tickets booth located there....
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
an hour before it was televised nationwide. An estimated 10,000 people appeared at the screening in New York City. The designs of costumes were altered, according to Bryant, to reflect the general fashion development and changes in mainstream pop culture during the 1960s. In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, she teased: "My characters are in an office environment in New York; it's very different from what was going on in London at the time. But there will be some progression in their costumes, just like in real life.
The press were given advanced copies of the episode. Matthew Weiner pronounced himself shocked by what he considered spoilers
Spoiler (media)
Spoiler is slang for any element of any summary or description of any piece of fiction that reveals any plot element which will give away the outcome of a dramatic episode within the work of fiction, or the conclusion of the entire work. It can also be used to refer to any piece of information...
in the review. Weiner criticized the episode's review by the New York Times, expressing that the publication revealed too much information. He continued: "I'm kind of powerless. It's the bargain you make. I wanted to have press, and it was nice to get that kind of space with those pictures. The alternative is not to share these things with the press any more – but how can you expect journalists to write about the show if you don’t? It was all very disappointing to me.
"Public Relations" features several references to media, music, film, and other pop culture phenomenon. Peggy and a coworker engage in a humorous conversation, in which they subsequently refer to "John & Marsha" by Stan Freberg
Stan Freberg
Stanley Victor "Stan" Freberg is an American author, recording artist, animation voice actor, comedian, radio personality, puppeteer, and advertising creative director whose career began in 1944...
. The episode depicts the growing acceptance of the bikini
Bikini
The bikini is typically a women's two-piece swimsuit. One part of the attire covers the breasts and the other part covers the crotch and part of or the entire buttocks, leaving an uncovered area between the two. Merriam–Webster describes the bikini as "a woman's scanty two-piece bathing suit" or "a...
in mainstream popular culture in the United States during the 1960s.
Reception
"Public Relations" first aired in the United States on July 25, 2010 on AMC. It was watched by 2.92 million viewers, and attained a 0.9 rating in the 18-49 demographic, according to Nielson ratings. Total viewership increased 5% from the previous season premiere, "Out of Town", which was viewed by 2.76 million viewers. In contrast, ratings for "Public Relations" were constant to that of "Out of Town". Likewise, total viewership were significantly up from the previous episode, "Shut the Door. Have a Seat", which attained 2.32 million viewers.The episode was critically acclaimed by television critics. Alessandra Stanley of the New York Times opined, "Those cues also hold out the promise that the coming season will once again pivot the story on the workplace. It’s where Mad Men started and where it was best. A fresh start at the rat race is just what the series needs." Eric Goldman of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave the episode a nine out of ten, signifying an "amazing" rating. Goldman felt that it start of the season on a strong note, writing, "It's a clever beat to start out with, leading into a strong premiere that quickly drops us into what can be described as Mad Men 2.0." Praise was also directed to the musical selection of the episode, which Goldman described as excellent. In concurrence, Keith Phipps of The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
gave the episode an 'A' grade, praising the character development of Don Draper and Peggy Olsen. Expressing that she had more confidence, Phipps said of Peggy: "[She's] the person who's changed most notably over the last year. She drinks at work like the boys and [...] goes into a Don-like trance as she searches for inspiration. She bosses Joey around and tells him when he’s gone too far. And she’s not afraid to get creative to sell ham and wants credit for her idea, even if it encounters a minor disaster along the way. Most significantly, she’s standing up to Don at every turn now. He bullies her in front of her fiancé but hears about it later. And she provides a devastating mixture of admiration and chiding when she reminds Don that everyone at SCDP is there because of him and out of a desire to make him happy." Similarly, James Poniewozik
James Poniewozik
James Poniewozik is an American journalist and television critic. He writes Times Tuned In column and has a blog with the same name.Originally from Monroe, MI, Poniewozik attended the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, graduating with a BA in English. He subsequently attended the graduate program...
of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
praised the performance of Elizabeth Moss, exclaiming that "she has come a long way."
TV Fanatic Dan Forcella felt that "Public Relations" was an fantastic episode, and asserted: "All in all it was a great start to the fourth season of Mad Men." In conclusion, Forcella gave the episode a 4.5 out of 5 stars. The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
journalist Cheryl Berman opined that the episode had a "little bit of everything we love about Mad Men." William Bradley wrote in The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
that the series got off to "a cracking start" with "Public Relations". Similarly, Scott D. Pierce of the Deseret News found it to be "a very good episode and a very promising restart", after what he considered a disappointing third season.
External links
- "Public Relations" (Mad Men) at AMC