Who Wants To Be @don_draper?

Image via AMC

It has been 366 days since I kicked off what became Mad Men on Twitter and I'm excited to announce that what started with a fan of Mad Men wanting to see what would happen if a character from that show started Tweeting shall continue being done by a fan. It just won't be me who is doing the Tweeting. While fun to do, I simply don't have time this year.

So who will get to do it?

That's up to me. And you.

If you want to be @don_draper, convince me that you deserve it. However you think is the best way to do that. The only rule is that it has to be done using the power of the interwebs. Other than that, I'm not going to tell you what to do. That's up to you. Don is the creative director of Sterling Cooper so showing me your creativity is key.

How will this work?

If you're interested, do whatever it is you think is the best way to show me why you should be @don_draper and leave a link/note/whatever in the comments of this post. You have until next Saturday (8/22) to get your submission in. (As long as your comment reads 8/22 as the date, you're up for consideration.)

On Sunday (8/23), five finalists will be chosen. Who they are will not be announced publicly to help protect the ultimate winner's anonymity. Each of the five finalists will be assigned a day to Tweet anonymously as @don_draper (Monday 8/24, Tuesday 8/25, Wednesday 8/26, Thursday 8/27, Friday 8/28) using CoTweet.

On Friday (8/28) night, a poll will be put up for fans to vote for who they think should be the winner.

I'll take fan votes into consideration along with my own opinion to decide who the victory goes to. The winner will be announced on Sunday, August 30th at the conclusion of episode two. (The winner's name will not be announced. They will be announced by the day they were @don_draper, i.e. "Friday @don_draper")

What does the winner get?

They get to be @don_draper for all of season three, getting full control of the account at the end of the season, with two stipulations.

What are the stipulations?

The first stipulation is that they have to do a great job of being @don_draper as decided by the fans. So, before you volunteer to do this, make sure you have the time and energy to put to it. It will require a good effort from you – more than I could put into it last year.

How will the fans decide if the new @don_draper is living up to expectations?

By raising their voice if they feel otherwise just like some of them did last year. If that happens this time, we'll put out a larger vote to see if more people feel that way. If so, the winning @don_draper will be fired and replaced by the runner-up. That's right. The new @don_draper can be fired.

The second stipulation is that they have to remain anonymous until season three is complete.

From what I learned last year, a lot of the fun of the account from the side of the fans is that they don't know who is behind it. At the end of the season, they can announce their identity if they so choose in whatever form they choose. And, if they've done a brilliant job the entire season, the account is theirs to decide what to do with for season four, should there be one. They will have earned it at that point.

To be clear, this means that until the winner proves they deserve full control of the account, they will be @don_draper through CoTweet only while I retain the password and email address tied to it. My only role in this will be following in the fun and (hopefully not) firing the winner should they fail to fulfill the job's requirements.

I know some of you won't like that the account doesn't get handed over right away, but I put too much time into this last year to just give it over without knowing that the person who takes it cares about it as much as I do. If that turns some of you off from applying, well, I understand. For those of you that aren't discouraged by it, I look forward to seeing what happens.

Good luck to those of you who wish to compete.

To the rest of you, please help spread the word.

Oh, and be sure to tune into AMC this Sunday night at 10PM/9C for the premiere of Mad Men Season 3.

Comments

[Catie]

Application, in a video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CkygQQUSac

[Emily]

Considering there is a new Don Draper on twitter, why does anyone care about this?

Why not just create your own account and avoid this level of manipulative control from someone who appears to have been a very bad writer. 15 minutes off fame. Some people can't give it up. Go figure.

[dvK678]

Is that Helen Ross who plays @bettydraper trying out for this? She has used that same commercial in shown in the youtube video in the past. Sure sounds like her.

[Craig Elimeliah]

The reason I should be @Don_Draper is because I will force people to think and to feel again, ad folks haven't felt it is because it no longer exists. What they call love was invented by guys like you and me, to sell shit. 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 will never forget. I'm living like there's no tomorrow, because there isn't one. This reality needs to be personified online, our industry is sucking at the tit of twitter and needs to be fed some reality on a regular basis. If given the chance to assume the persona of Don Draper I will use his influence to smack some sense into what is an industry gone awry by reinforcing the fundamental pillar of advertising, happiness. And do you know what happiness is? Happiness is the smell of a new car. It's freedom from fear. It's a tweet every few minutes that screams with reassurance that whatever you're doing right now is not OK because right now folks in this business are not OK. They are taking all this monkey crap and sticking it in a reusable eco-friendly bag, completely unaware that their success depends on something more than a fancy pair of black rimmed glasses and a distressed t-shirt. Twitter isn't a spaceship, it's a time machine. It goes backwards, and forwards... it takes us to a place where we ache to go again. I am the guy to take us there.

[craigsanatomy]

I nominate Emily the Grouch to be Don_Draper.

Because she's all about finding opportunities to "stick it to the man." Just like DD.

Also, conformity sucks!

[DaveHoward]

Advertising is about making you feel something. I want to make others (and their wives) feel enough to pull out their wallets in even lean times to invest in your product. What is the most important product a man can invest in? Himself.

I enjoy studying mystic people and poet philosophers. I enjoy day dream about visiting exotic locales but often end up in Baltimore. I understand that the average family man, like me, needs a fantasy to escape to every now and then. This could be a simple as taking in a Travelogue or spending the afternoon shopping for trench coats while envisioning a life not unlike that of Cary Grant. Women want to see themselves in a Bloomingdale’s window; men want to see themselves on the silver screen.

Men, in general, fantasize about a “better” life, whatever that may be. My job is to make them comfortable enough in that fantasy to make them think buying your product will bring them an inch closer to it. The new Cadillac, the right cigarette and the properly distilled vodka are all a part of an Ian Fleming lifestyle.

I sell fantasies to others to make your personal and financial dreams come true.

Sincerely,

Donald Draper
Creative Director
Sterling Cooper

P.S. If you would like references on my work, you should contact @UnemployedBush.

[Frank Adman]

I long for the day advertising becomes a business for a grown man. What's with all the Drapers? I've followed a number of them off and on for the past year and I'm still flummoxed. In the ad biz we call them "Wild Men" - Pawing the ground until the president retires. However, this fellow seems to be doing a fine job: http://twitter.com/_DonDraper . If, at the end of this experiment you still have no takers give me a ring. Sincerely, F. Adman aka @FrankAdman

[Sandra]

http://one-of-them.com/pitch.htm

My application, in the form of a short story.

Enjoy :)

[don.draper15]

Sending over spec copy via messenger boy. Check your mail.