Draper Daniels vs. Don Draper
by Myra Janco Daniels
Related:
I Married a Mad Man »
Meet Draper Daniels, the Chicago ad legend who inspired AMC's Mad Men—and a real-life love story
AMC's Mad Men »
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How does Mad Men’s Don Draper compare with the real-life Draper Daniels? They have a similar look. Draper Daniels [above left, pictured in 1959] smoked a lot and sometimes drank his lunch, as Don Draper [right, played by the actor Jon Hamm] does on the show. He had a lot of energy, enjoyed life, and came up with brilliant and innovative ideas, traits shared with Don Draper. He also liked women, much the way Don Draper does. But the Draper Daniels I knew became a one-woman man after we married. He also quit drinking, when I told him I didn’t want to work with a lush. Draper Daniels was an open book. He could be disgustingly honest. He was a farm boy from New York State who made it big in the advertising world. But he never forgot where he came from. That was one reason his campaigns were so successful. He spoke to people, one person at a time, through his ads.
Photography: (left) Courtesy of Myra Janco Daniels, (right) © 2008 Frank Ockenfels/AMC
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Unfortunately Myra Daniels is not known for being an honest person. Did she really change him?
"What you call love was invented by guys like me, to sell nylons. You're born alone and you die alone and this world just drops a bunch of rules on top of you to make you forget those facts. But I never forget. I'm living like there's no tomorrow, because there isn't one.'
I will never forget the interview I had with Draper Daniels early in my career. He was quite direct but provided some very helpful advice. Although I never worked at his agency, I would have jumped at the chance. Working on a farm is a great backdrop for those in advertising. There's no pretense, nothing phony. It's about hard work, truth and people who have little time for the contrary. Lessons I learned and valued from my grandfather while working on his farm as a boy.