my first thought was jackie kennedy ... the black hairstyle was like jackie o
but I will have to watch again

In my post titled Changing the Guard, I mentioned this, but I believe I used the wrong term for the garment. The mother's clothing in the Popsicle ad was intended to look like a priest's garments, that being a red alb covered by a lace surplice. Her's was a red dress covered by a white lacy smock cut apron.

Image link:
http://www.diocesi.genova.it/immagini/archivio/2149.jpg

I think this is definitely a Catholic Church reference. I think it has the mother in a pose like the Virgin Mary (including a halo). She talks about breaking the Popsicle and sharing it. In the Catholic Church the priest breaks the bread and shares it. I found it subtle but very interesting. I think good advertising (like Don's Kodak Carousel add) leads you to a comfort point. It should all make sense.

During the Popsicle meeting I heard Peggy make definite references to Christianity.
She did correct Ken when he made a reference to Communion being a Catholic ritual, she said it was more of a Christen ritual.
I did not see a Virgin Mary image in the Popsicle ad, but, Peggy did say something to the effect that The Catholic Church can sell anything.

Oh my gosh. You are so right. At first I thought they (the writers) were implying that Peggy "stole" the idea from other marketing campaigns, but this makes perfect sense. That's why the figure looked familiar to the client. She totally honed in on the religious parallel of the experience.

Too cool...thanks for pointing it out. Now it seems so obvious!

We are Catholic (I converted) and the mother image is like the Holy Virgin. She is not looking at the children because she is giving without judgement (they are both equal like the pieces of popsicle) which is why they are glad to share. Sharing does not often mean equality (one child has the better toy for a while) but in this case both popsicle halves are equal.

The mother in the add is Mary. The Popsicle circle is around her head creating a halo. Her arms are outstreached in the ad. Google images of the Virgin Mary and you can see statues of her in that pose.
Very appropriate and clever as the religious undertones of reserection are played out. Dick/Don is being baptized of his sins and will return home from his travels
Peggy, as the unquestioning Mary, will be his undying support.

Such great and insightful observations from all of you...I am constantly impressed with the level of comments on this blog...it is wonderful....

Given everything you all have said...I think perhaps that this is a bit of foreshadowing for Peggy...she may be preparing to "go back into the fold" more seriously, or have some type of confession or epiphany about her child?...I think Colin Hanks will be back in the picture as well..........

I thought it interesting that in her explanation of the Popsicle "ritual" of splitting it equally, Peggy mentioned her mother loved her and her sister equally (Anita would beg to differ, I think.)

And, alas, Father Gill returns next week. If I heard it right he tells her the reason he feels he was meant to be sent to that parish was to save/help her. I don't know about you but I don't thinnk Peggy's looking to be "saved."

Definitely Mary with arms lovingly outstretched offering blessed communion on a stick.

Another thought...and, maybe it's a bit of a stretch, but...the splitting in two of the popsicle is very symbolic of so many of the characters in the series...Don, Peggy, Joan, etc., all have two distinct sides to their personas...any comments?

I noticed how Peggy had the art department draw the mother in the illustration. I thought the position of her arms was 'awkward' and the style of her dress was a strange tent-like shape that made me think she was also pregnant.

Now I understand the tie-in to the Catholic faith, but still wonder how Don would have edited her version of the ad. I'm almost sure he would have opted for a different illustration, acknowledging the fact that all consumers are not religious or Catholic. Perhaps, an ad that had the mother in modern dress and apron but positioning the sun behind her head (like a halo) would improve it.

I do like the copy she wrote, and it proves she has been listening to Don and has learned her job well. You could almost hear the wheels turning as she formulated the idea. I'm also proud of how she stepped forward and asked for new office space. Good job Peggs!

(I will post my reactions to Roger's response on the 'Roger Thread.')

In addition to the Virgin Mary with the "Halo" behind her head, the Mother's pose (arms reaching out) also reminded me of Da Vinci's "Last Supper," which would tie in with the "breaking of (bread) popcicle" or communion. which Peggy talks about in formulating her idea.

I LOVE everyone's comments. What great observations. And remember when the Popsicle guy mentions the art look familiar, Peggy says "the art is original".
How true!

This year has been interesting with the Catholic background. So many times religion is negative. But I think Mad Men is showing some of the positives (again in a subtle way) - breaking of the bread and sharing equally and before with Father Gill looking to give Peggy a chance at confession. Which I know some people took as pushy, but a theme in the show has been that secrets don't work. Secrets gnaw at the soul and lead to not a full life. Father Gill giving her a chance at confession is a chance to acknowledge that life and move forward. Something that all characters could do. I can't wait until next week. Except than it is over.

... FYI, it is interesting that Betty's full name is Elizabeth. St. Elizabeth was John the Baptist's mother. Puts a cool perspecive on the last scene.

As well, St. Hannah was a prophetess. (Hannah Draper tarot reader).

I could go on.... :-)

It brought to mind a comment by Draper early on when he said:
"Our art department lives by tracing paper," or something to that effect...

That was my first impulse, that the art dept had lifted the image from something else...

M: It's 'Anna' Draper, not Hannah.

Hammfan, uh, might want to keep personal politics and offensive statements like that to yourself. I'm not Catholic but many people are -and if your little rant was of a race, gender or orientation nature- you probably wouldn't get a pass here.

I just found this and thought I'd share it with my fellow madicts. Who knew!?!!

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=100218060&imageindex=6

America's Most Unusual Addictions // Popsicles (© David Roth/FoodPix/Photolibrary)
5. Iron supplements for popsicle addiction

"I have an addiction to sugar-free popsicles," says 51-year-old Susan, a lawyer from New York who eats 12 popsicles a day. "After four years, I found out that it's a symptom of anemia!"

Dr. Eric Rosenbaum, M.D., says that pagophagia is an obsessive need to chew on ice and can be a sign of low iron in the blood. "If it is anemia, treatment with iron supplements should correct the problem," says Dr. Rosenbaum, who practices in Larchmont, N.Y.

"Further, the addition of B vitamins can help increase red blood cell production, and vitamin C can aid in the absorption of iron." He advises people who struggle with pagophagia to have their thyroid gland checked, as a desire for cold can be a sign of an overactive thyroid.

The Virgin Mary is a second-class citizen. That woman in the artwork is the Goddess....Down with patriarchy...at Sterling Cooper and in the Church. Thank you, Peggy.

Thanks, Lauri B
I did make an error. Yes it is Anna Draper, not Hannah, however Anna is a form of Hannah.
As well, iconology for fun, I am assuming Peggy's name is Margaret. Margaret was the mother of Mary. Peg gave birth to the Mary of the Popsicle campaign.
I'm just sharing fun ideas/observations here, guys. But I must say, Catholic school has come in handy for this episode!

Another observation by a friend:
"The illustrations seen in the presentations of the day were only rough
comps. Actually, still applies today. Although I agree with the religious
connection wholeheartedly, we needn't take the illustration so literally.
Peggy made her point clearly, yet cleverly came in just under the radar with
the "Virgin Mary as a Mom" so that the client "adored" it, yet didn't quite know why."

Yes, Peggy knows how to get her way without appearing aggressive....which would be sooooo unfeminine. She's smart!

Also very interesting is the slogan that was chosen for the campaign: "Take It. Break It. Share It. Love It." This is a pretty close borrowing from the Catholic eucharistic prayer, based in turn on the various Last Supper passages of the New Testament.

The Catholic Eucharistic Prayer #2 (the most commonly heard one) reads: "he took bread and gave you thanks, he broke the bread, gave it to his disciples"

This parallels various Biblical passages, like Luke 24:30 (the Road to Emmaus story) which reads "he took the bread and blessed [it], and broke it, and gave it to them"

All the scriptural and liturgical variants of this work around the four part theme of "took it, blessed it, broke it, gave it" (Take it, break it, share it, love it"!), and countless sermons have been written around the significance of the words "taken, blessed, broken, and given".

Of course, this is kind of a post-Vatican II theme (Eucharistic Prayer II wasn't adapted until 1970), but Peggy and her friend Fr. Gill are kind of early adopting post-Vatican II Catholics.

Thanks for pointing all that out! Yes, it is a typical religious pose of either Mary or Jesus holding out their hands to take in everyone, offer them comfort and non-judgmental and completely equal love. And I love the joke she makes about it being an "original" image ;-)

Peggy's observation about the Church knowing how to sell things is very much a reflection of how Don thinks--she really is his protégée. On the one hand, she is skeptical enough to stand apart and see what is attractive to people, in this case, a ritual with deeper meaning (sharing communion like sharing a popsicle). Just as Don says he creates the idea of "Love" that people dream about.

On the other hand, like Don, Peggy still has faith in this ritual and in what it symbolizes, as Don has faith in his dreams of Love and such, even though he's in the business of creating those dreams for other people.

You're quite right about the duality here. It's run though this whole season. Peggy and Don, among others, have that duality in spades, the home vs. the business, the belief in the dream vs. the ability to take apart the dream and re-create it for their own purposes. Very sharp.

greytone - i thought the woman's hairstyle looked like peggy's and that she looked like she was wearing a maternity top.

Yes, he's better off ignored.

.....As always, great posts when it comes to Catholicism....so much to learn (and I'm supposedly Catholic!).

lilipie...Thanks for posting this....almost thought I imagined that whole symbolic link.

It's Toasted.....I think the theme was very deliberate all the way through from the popsicle breaking as you mentioned, to the mother's outstretched arms, to her garment, even, to Sal referencing The Last Supper, to Dick Whitman baptizing himself (with the same outstretched arms) in the Pacific Ocean.

Let's face it, nothing is more "ritualistic" than the Catholic Church!

I don't know the 7 sacraments. We saw Confession (Dick to Anna), Communion (the popsicle ad) and Baptism in the last scene. What's left?

flower power
Marriage, Anointing of the sick, Confirmation, Holy Orders (Priesthood or becoming a Nun - marrying God)

greytone - i thought the woman's hairstyle looked like peggy's and that she looked like she was wearing a maternity top.
@1funkychick...i thought that too but I got shot down..."no.it's the Virgin Mary" Why can't it be both? I get the Virgin Mary. ...Take it ,break it....but I still say that is Peggy's hairstyle and...and the dress was red and in the past people have made a deal out if red being used...like the antique red cars(?) Don was admiring at the beach.

1funkychick and nmkay...
OnDemand Episode 12 has not been uploaded by my cable company yet (Comcast), so I can't get a second look at the illustration. Thank you for reading my post and adding your own. I'll be leaning forward very soon (I hope!) to peek at the things I missed.
--**--
Although I know it exists, I'm not so sure I like seeing the things advertisers use to systematically insert subliminal messages to sell products. It is interesting that Peggy has read books written on the topic, and it is also true she could be adding the messages innocently because of her personal (ie, Catholic) experience. I would love to take a class on the subject, but it would probably cause me more anxiety than its worth.

I'm so old school, I still know how to exercise my right to ignore most of them. That's gotten harder and harder cause they've gotten better and better at it What a rat race! Great show!

.....Guys, I just saw an entry on the Blog showing the Sterling Cooper client porfolio.... the popsicle ad art is included if you want to take a closer look.

http://blogs.amctv.com/mad-men/2008/10/sterling-cooper-portfolio.php

Does anybody remember a book that made the rounds in the 1970's - I think the title was Subliminal Perception or something. It was supposed to show that advertising uses certain hidden images to sell their products.The idea was that people are drawn to certain images of sex, death and I forget what else. They showed photos of ice cubes in drinks that suposedly had hidden sexual images in them and a skull image in the smoke of a cigarette ad.

Whether this is true or not, I don't know but I do know that Mr.Clean was supposedly drawn from the image of "Ike" who was so popular then.

I remember the subliminal advertising, that was being done in the 70's flowerpower! ;o) People were outraged and I think it sparked a legislative law against this practice. I remember the glass of ice that had three cubes stacked up. Each cube had a letter on it: S-E-X. Camel cigarettes had a naked woman carefully drawn in the leg of the camel on the package of the cigarettes. Coca Cola and Pepsi would place a single frame in a movie reel that would flash a cold soda cup with Pepsi or Coca Cola on the label. People who watched the movie could not see the single frame of the soda cup with the naked eye, but subliminally they could. There would be a mad rush to the consession stand for a cold soda right after it flashed. Good memory, flowerpower!! Cheers ;o)

The book is "Subliminal Seduction" By Wilson Bryan Key, which purported to reveal covert symbolism in ads for liquor, cigarettes and other consumer products.. only detectable via the subconscious.
It's antecedent can be found in the Season 1 during the Freudian "Death Wish" scene by the paid researcher during the Lucky Strike creative briefing.

Sorry, one more on Subliminal Seduction; The author published a few more books after his breakthrough best-seller. He lost credibility with each subsequent book, culminating in the unintentionally hilarious CLAM PLATE ORGY: Here is a line from his third book, based on a trip to a Howard Johnson restaurant--
*This is IRONY-FREE, BTW*
"The place mat illustration is not a photographic representation of actual clams, of course, but an airbrush painting. It includes nine caricatured human figures as well as a donkey astride a human figure. The donkey seems to be licking the stomach of the figure upon whose lightly shaded face is a long mustache. To the left of the prostrate face-up male figure appears a female figure with a highly piled coiffure. A head can be seen between her legs. Who would believe a sexual orgy, oral sex, and bestiality could be so deftly incorporated into an innocent restaurant placemat?"

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