Sales Pitch-Mad Men

In “Mad Men”, Draper (John Hamm) is able to reframe a product to sell a feeling and not the physical product. In this particular scene, Kodak has created a new slide projector called the “Kodak Carousel Projector”. It has faster slide changes, a circular tray design, and an overall improved technology aspect to it. However, Draper knows that people do not buy the product, they buy meaning. Instead of listing all the great new technological aspects of it, Drapper emphasizes nostalgia and family. You do not sell features, sell human relevance. The original idea was to have the product called a “wheel”. However, Drapper introduces a new name: “The Carousel”. He argues that this will evoke childhood/amusement park memories. This is a great tactic as it creates an emotional frame that a product cannot give you itself. Drapper also mentions the idea of it being a “time machine”, evoking emotions from the buyer. memories are powerful because they can be joyful and painful at the same time. It was good times, but they are over now. It is a great way to relive your life. I believe this is an excellent tactic in sales as nostalgia is a very powerful and useful thing. Later, Drapper has a great demonstration by showing slides of his own family. He shows his wife, children, and vacations. Psychologically, this does a couple things. One, it personalizes the product. Second, it creates emotional vulnerability. To close, Drapper ends with one of the most famous lines of the show: “It goes backwards, and forwards… and it takes us to a place where we ache to go again”. Here, Drapper connects the physical product (the rotating, with emotional journey. Overall, Drapper is able to do an excellent job in sealing the deal on this product by creating emotions that the buyer would not have thought about if they were just given the product and all of its features.