Bert Cooper: Mystical Guru or Advertising Genius?

Bert Cooper is known as one of the two names behind Mad Men’s main advertising firm Sterling Cooper, but what is the one thing Bert is notoriously known for? His beliefs of a shoeless office and well-groomed bonsai tree. An avid philosopher, Bert Cooper is known as the calm of the many stormy days in the advertising office. He is one of the most paradoxical characters of Mad Men because he has the highest position in the firm, but most of the time we don’t see Bert doing actual work to benefit the company. Maybe his inner spirits have prompted him to relax and let the others run his business. Or maybe we don’t see many of Bert’s actual efforts because the absence of drama in his personality could make his duties seem boring and unexciting.

Image Credit: http://www.deoveritas.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/bert-cooper-2.0-mad-men-no-socks-shoes-off.png

Subsequently, there are many cases in today’s society that a spiritual mindset in the work place makes a more successful worker. Since Bert is “running” an entire business, it can be odd to find him acting so calm at the most unnatural times. In the article, the parallel between emotional intelligence and Bert’s persona in the office exemplify his management style. His “self-awareness” is displayed in his confidence like refusing to smoke or drink heavily. Bert rarely talks down upon people, so when he does, there is more of an effect behind his voice. He calls out Roger about his about his excessive smoking in episode seven “Red in the Face,” and how “it’s a sign of weakness.” Weakness is a characteristic that Bert obviously doesn’t have or refuses to reveal.

Bert also possesses very high relationship skills. He values hard workers like Don and this is seen in his spontaneous gesture to give him a generous bonus in episode eight of season one, “The Hobo Code.” We also barely see him yell and pick fights with the people who consistently focus on the “bad.” A good example of this is when Pete Campbell tries to unveil Don’s real identity in episode twelve, “Nixon vs. Kennedy” and Bert practically blows Pete off. He tries to manifest Don as a good man, even though he may not be who he says he is.           

The Bert Cooper aura of socks and Ayn Rand provide a sense of peace in the office. His spiritual ways can prove that being a “chill” manager can be beneficial in a high-paced business. Maybe one modern 1960s hippie is what the “mad men” need in order to prevent each of them from destroying the business with their day-to-day petty ordeals.

References:

http://lancemannion.typepad.com/lance_mannion/2010/10/all-the-mad-men-and-all-the-mad-women-are-going-to-go-galt.html

http://madmen.wikia.com/wiki/Bertram_Cooper

http://www.cimaglobal.com/Thought-leadership/Newsletters/Insight-e-magazine/Insight-January-20061/Bringing-spiritual-intelligence-into-the-workplace/

http://maggiedent.com/sites/default/files/articles/Spiritual%20Intelligence%20in%20the%20Workplace.pdf 

The Oh, So Swanky Bert Cooper

Bert Cooper, without a doubt, is one of the only male characters on Mad Men that does not let the concept of  ‘being professional’ stop him from expressing his eccentric style.  Bert's colorful clothing and unconventional art shows that his style approach is very progressive in comparison to the other men at Sterling Cooper. From Argyle socks to modern art, Mr. Cooper finds a way to add a contemporary look to the Sterling Cooper work place.

Image Credit:  http://www.deoveritas.com/blog/socks-are-underrated/

 

A manner, in which Bert depicts his contemporary style, is with the clothing that he wears around the office.  Mr. Cooper’s use of color and patterns shows that he is not afraid to take a risk. He finds a way to make business attire fun and stylish. Argyle, a popular pattern for Mr. Cooper, is known to add a preppy style to any outfit. Bert wears sweaters and socks that illustrate this argyle pattern constantly around the office. In addition to his choice of patterns, Mr. Cooper tends to be the only person in the office that always wears a bow tie rather than a necktie. Bow ties are notorious for formal events and bringing an outfit together in a classy way. This unique, classy persona is what makes Mr. Cooper, Mr. Cooper.

Throughout the show, another way that Bert expresses his individuality is with his admiration for modern art. Bert appreciates artwork that the other men at the ad agency wouldn’t find intriguing, which shows his individuality in comparison to all the other men. Bert is able to portray his approval for the art by displaying several pieces throughout the offices, including the conference rooms where the men discuss copy. This means that Mr. Cooper is able to influence the other men with his style throughout the office with these unique pieces of art. 

Image Credit: http://acculturated.com/2012/09/25/mark-rothko-the-tragedy-and-the-ecstasy/

Mr. Cooper is one of the only men on Mad Men that doesn’t let wearing a suit get in the way of showing off his personality.  His unique persona is what adds personality to the Sterling Cooper work place. His artistic decisions influence all characters on the show because Mr. Cooper makes a point to have everyone notice his artwork. Without Bert Cooper, Sterling Cooper employees would not have this artistic atmosphere surrounding them.

Links Referenced:
http://elizabethandliz.wordpress.com/2012/08/23/how-to-buy-art-like-bert-cooper/

http://www.examiner.com/article/the-pattern-series-argyle

http://www.squidoo.com/argyle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bow_tie 

Don Draper: A Randian Hero?

“My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.” - Ayn Rand 

The simplest summarization of the philosophy of Objectivism could strike someone as the implicit ideology of Don Draper.  The ethics of a rational man, according to Ayn Rand, author of the acclaimed novel Atlas Shrugged, determine the course of his life, through reasoning and his own objective observation and rejecting the notions of altruism and self-sacrifice.  Furthermore, happiness is only achievable to a rational man acting in accordance with these principles.  

Bert Cooper first makes reference to the similarities between Don Draper and Ayn Rand’s idealized rational man in the episode “The Hobo Code.”  “You are a productive and reasonable man, and in the end, completely self interested." But Don’s egoism is first presented to the audience in episode one, “Smoke Gets in your Eyes.”  By definition, the affair with Midge, once revealed as extramarital by the end of the episode, is an act of carnal and psychological selfishness.  Rand would argue that such an affair, if in accordance with one’s own morality, is a rational act, in addition to being an expression of positive self-esteem.  Once his life story is gradually revealed, Don’s rational egoism is further affirmed by his creating a new life for himself for his own selfish purpose.  He did so not at the expense of the real Don and Anna Draper, but as he eventually explains, he had to remove himself from his traumatic past, and he had to get out of Korea.  The only way to do so was to leave Dick Whitman behind.  

Don particularly resembles one character from Atlas Shrugged, Hank Rearden, an ambitious steel executive whose business is derailed by excessive government regulation.  Both men play the part of a solid provider, even when they receive little to no personal satisfaction from doing so.  Both men find the tenets of post-materialism to be illogical, such as when Don dismisses Midge’s friends’ criticism of his lifestyle in “The Hobo Code.”  Lastly, both men pursue intellectual and sexual relationships with independent businesswomen as a means of escaping the seemingly vacuous relationships they have with their wives.  It is because of these similarities that I believe the writers of Mad Men intended to have some basic axioms of Objectivism be prevalent in Don Draper’s life.  

In an attempt to avoid oversimplifying Don’s philosophical motivation, it should be fully recognized that he does not solely see through an Objectivist lens.  The whole notion of evading reality is asserted by his abandonment of his true identity.  Rand would argue that man should not act without knowing the purpose of his actions, which one could argue, that Don has never truly been cognizant of his immediate nor long-term future.  But there is something to be said for his individuality, his commitment to success, and his apparent rational egoism, even if it operates at the expense of Betty and his children.  Don is driven to make money for himself, not for others.  He strives to be the best ad man at Sterling Cooper, which makes his relationship with the aspiring Pete Campbell more contentious.  His mind operates within his definition of a sound business model, that which is the client is to adopt his idea. He uses his own objective, reasonable mind to govern his life and rarely accepts that which is fed to him by Roger, Betty, or Pete.  Rand writes in Atlas Shrugged that “Man's mind is his basic tool of survival. Life is given to him, survival is not. His body is given to him, its sustenance is not. His mind is given to him, its content is not” (1012).  There is no doubt that Don chose to live by this assertion when his life spun out of control; he chose to repair it through volition.  

Sterling Cooper Shrugs

Atlas Shrugged is a novel written by Ayn Rand, first published in 1957. The novel takes place in the future United States, where the population refuses to be exploited by the government. The protagonist of the book is a woman named Dagny Taggart. She sees the government trying to take more and more control over its people, which leads to the society collapsing. Meanwhile, a productive member of society by the name of John Galt is leading a “strike” against the government because it tries to take away from individual people’s accomplishments. The book, in over a thousand pages, tries to demonstrate that society cannot exist if its people are slaves to the government and if there is a lack of profit motive in people’s minds.

This novel is very pro-Capitalism. A major theme in the book is the idea of objectivism. Objectivism is the idea of "rational self-interest," which means looking out for you above everyone else. “Rational self-interest” is an idea that stemmed from Capitalism. Capitalism is an economic system where things are produced privately and meant for private profit. People who believe in Capitalism believe that it is the best economic system because it allows for an individual to work hard and earn their profit on their own, without any help from the government. In Capitalism, profit motive is what triggers people to work hard. Capitalists believe that the government should keep out of economic affairs.

Bert Cooper, one of the heads of Sterling Cooper, is a big fan of Atlas Shrugged and suggests to a number of his employees to buy a copy. In the wake of the Cold War, this was a very popular book because it promoted Capitalism, which is what the United States believes is the best economic system. The book suggests that the government as shown in the book, a government that control its people, is a form of Communism. Communism versus Capitalism was the main idea of the Cold War and whoever ‘won’ the War would have the best type of government.

Links referenced: “Atlas Shrugged.” Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 15 Oct 2010. Web. 17 Oct
2010.