When I was 20 years old in 1965, I had already been working as a chemical technician at Baker Castor Oil for three years (Click here to read my articles regarding my employment there) and in that year I was thinking of making a career change when I discovered that chemical scientists earned the least amount of pay of all other scientists. If my father had not obtained a spot at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem for me (read those articles here), I was seriously considering looking for work in advertising on the creative side.

It would have been a perfect fit for me: although I am neither racist nor antisemitic nor a drinker, at that time I was indeed quite sexist, a heavy 2 pack-a-day smoker, and a complete out-the-box thinker. So watching the AMC series Mad Men leaves me with a feeling of nostalgia, albeit for a career I never had.

Don Draper in the first episode informs us: "Advertising is based on one thing: happiness. And you know what happiness is? Happiness is the smell of a new car. It's freedom from fear. It's a billboard on the side of the road that screams reassurance that whatever you are doing is OK." The one thing that Don Draper wants most is freedom from fear, fear of discovery that he is not who he portrays himself to be.

***Possible Spoiler Alert***

All great stories should end as they begin. This is how I would like it to end: recall that in the penultimate episode of season 7 we saw Don Draper falsely accused of stealing donation money from a vets' fundraiser, just when he thought he was in perfect harmony with the other vets. When Don returns to McCann Erickson after being AWOL for weeks, they are ready to fire him but he tells them he had an inspiration for a great ad for Coca-Cola: and tells them that Advertising is based on one thing: happiness and gives them the idea for one of the greatest ads ever: "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing."