Advertising agencies are forced to hire so-called ‘creative’ people. They are artists, writers, musicians, radio and television directors, and the like. They are sure to give you trouble. … The writers are thinking about the books they plan to write exposing advertising (and probably you) …The agency has tried to make it easy for you by keeping you away from these people. It has provided keepers or overseers called Account Executives. They are hired for their rugged good looks, their flair for wearing clothes, and their skill — sometimes brutal but always effective — in handling creative people.
“But, of course, the main thrust of satire is delivered by Mr. Morse and Mr. Vallee—Mr. Morse as the lad who climbs the ladder and Mr. Vallee as the lunkhead on top. Seeing Mr. Morse in close-ups, as those wily expressions cross on his face and those wicked designs of Pal Joey gleam in his Horatio Alger-character eyes, is better (and I’m not chauvanistic) than seeing him on the stage. And Mr. Vallee—well, I can say nothing nicer than that he continues to improve with age.”
In the number “A Secretary is Not a Toy” you can see an uncanny resemblence to the Sterling Cooper floor plan as the men in gray suits stroll up and down the rows of steno machines reminding one another that
A secretary is not to be Used for play therapy. Be good to the girl you employ, boy. Remember no matter what Neurotic trouble you’ve got A secretary is not a toy.
She’s a highly specialized key component Of operational unity, A fine and sensitive mechanism To serve the office community. With a mother at home she supports; And you’ll find nothing like her at FAO Schwarz.
These play was produced in 1961. The Tony Awards: Best Musical, Best Book; Pulitzer Prize for Drama; Drama Critics Circle Award were all snagged by it before the movie version came out in 1967. Aspirational lyricism!
