Public Relations (Mad Men)
The agency partners are concerned about the narrow breadth 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.
In November 1964, Don Draper (Jon Hamm) is being interviewed by a reporter from Advertising Age and declines to speak about his personal life.
As a result, he comes across as arrogant and inscrutable in the published story - a fact that senior partners Roger Sterling (John Slattery) and Bert Cooper (Robert Morse) lament, as they had hoped the interview would act as advertising for the company.
One effect of the bad publicity is brought home just after Harry Crane (Rich Sommer) has sold a Jai Alai special to ABC.
The plan goes awry when the fight turns real and one of the women presses charges against the other for assault, and Peggy has to ask Don for bail and hush money.
They consistently roleplay the John and Marsha single by Stan Freberg whilst also helping and later presenting their ideas for Sugarberry Ham to Pete.
On Thanksgiving Day, Don spends time with a prostitute, and Betty has problems fitting in with the family of her new husband Henry Francis (Christopher Stanley).
When they return, well past 9 pm, an argument ensues about the house; Don, at his accountant's instigation, angrily reminds them they were supposed to be out a month ago, and he demands they either buy him out, pay him rent, or leave.
The Jantzen representatives reject the ad as overly risqué, and Don - exasperated by the clients' refusal to acknowledge a changing culture and the realities of their business - ends up throwing the men out of the meeting room.
As the episode ends, Don is seen telling the journalist the swashbuckling story of how he instigated the formation of SCDP by having Lane Pryce (Jared Harris) fire them.
[3][4] President Barack Obama, a fan of Mad Men, had sent series creator Matthew Weiner a letter to express his admiration.
[6] A week prior to the premiere of the episode, recurring cast member Crista Flanagan (who plays Lois Sadler) posed nude for Playboy.
[7] Screenings for the episode were shown in Los Angeles, California on July 21, 2010,[8] and again five days later at Duffy Square in New York City an hour before it was televised nationwide.
Peggy and a coworker engage in a humorous conversation, in which they subsequently refer to "A Dear John and Marsha Letter" by Stan Freberg.
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.
"[21] TV Fanatic's Dan Forcella felt that "Public Relations" was a fantastic episode, and asserted: "All in all it was a great start to the fourth season of Mad Men.
[24] 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.
