Don Draper vs Todd Sampson in Mad Men vs Gruen Transfer
Modern Australian advertising and the 1960s admen of Madison Avenue will go head-to-head tonight with ABC2’s top rating (for the channel) repeat of The Gruen Transfer airing at the same time as SBS’s first showing of Mad Men.
The timing may well hurt ABC 2 because Mad Men will be likely to tempt away its digital-savvy Gruen Transfer audience which delivered the channel near-record ratings a fortnight ago.
Although Mad Men – focusing on the amoral lives of Don Draper and his fellow executives at agency Sterling Cooper – has already aired on Australian TV on the Showcase channel, tonight will be its first free to air showing. The programme – going out at 8.30pm – has created buzz in today’s papers. According to Julian Lee in the Sydney Morning Herald:
“Whether it can deliver the sorts of numbers that Gruen has for the ABC, now in its second series and rating consistently at a minimum of a million viewers, remains to be seen.”
Meanwhile, last night’s first run of The Gruen Transfer on ABC1, which is the one repeated on ABC2 tonight, saw the panel discussing the issues around the controversial child abuse awareness advertisement which ran in Australia late last year. It won its slot against all other channels, delivering a 1.2m audience. It also narrowly bear stablemate Spicks & Specks for the first time this series.
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Todd Samson is great, but I reckon he will lose to Mad Men tonight. Luckily Gruen Transfer is on Wednesdays as well. How about the good old Johnny Rotten last night? Wasn’t he just great delivering that ad with his english charm and attitude? I wish we had that butter here in Oz,.. what ever the brand was…
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Don Draper is an adman.
He’s not in the business of advertising, he’s in the business of selling.
Need I go on?
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I’d say the Mumbrella audience will be enough to tip Mad Men over-the-line.
That’s right Tim. Your hypnotic, strobing Mad-Men ads have done the trick. I’m tuning in. Okay?
Please turn them off now, my eyes are watering and I feel dizzy.
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Don Draper’s hair at least is great when he’s on TV. Todd’s is woeful all the time. 😉
And, going by last night 17/4 ep of Gruen Todd doesnt like advertsing or capitalism. [ next year it will be the Gruen Seachange]
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a ridiculous comparison one is an over the top caricature and the other is Don Draper… what is it with the anti capitalist rants Chairman Todd??.. check which business you are working in mate, talk about confused!
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both typical ad-men of their time.
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Scary that the actor is less desperate to be a ‘celebrity’.
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Don Draper is my Idol 🙂 That Kodak Carousel Pitch was amazing…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suRDUFpsHus
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Serious case of tall poppy syndrome me thinks
Remember guys its a TV show that has to be entertaining to survive. Similar to Gordon Ramsay in his shows,both Todd and Russell have to say things that are provocative and or entertaining otherwise it would be a dull show
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Tall poppy syndrome?? I can see where you are confused, after all flowers are sometimes mistaken for weeds. Maybe it’s tall lantana sydnrome… by the way who uses the expression “me thinks’ outside of shakespearean plays… Forsooth methinks it be a Sampsonite
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