Don Draper vs my Creative Director

Don Draper is your ideal Creative Director – even though technically he’s a writer. He’s the embodiment of debonair. And although his way with women and commitment issues leave a lot to be desired, you still see him as a true gentleman.

My Creative Director? A gentleman, no question. Intelligent, polite and very professional. But along with this down-to-earth, approachable style, we get the infantile boy every now and then.

So I’m sitting at my desk – we sit in ‘banks’ rather than offices, so we’re all quite close and chatty – and I hear another writer giggle. Mid-thirties and he’s giggling like a schoolboy. “Look! Look at that,” he laughs. I’ve been here long enough to know that whatever I am about to see I probably don’t want to. My CD has picked up a rotting cucumber from the kitchen and is holding it at his waist, (cue ‘creative juices’ jokes) wiggling it in an Artworker’s ear. It was over as soon as I turned my head – “Not for you to see” he says.

Brilliant. Peggy has respect and adoration for Don. He’s her creative hero. If he were to wave a phallic object in a colleague’s ear, she’d be fairly mortified. Not me. Just my CD (and we’ll call him CD from now on) having a bit of a junior moment – which makes a change from the senior ones.

Moral of the story? Put mouldy veg (or should that be fruit?) in the bin. And bosses are wallies (especially when pretending to have green willies).

Ultimately, male colleagues are a different species - deal with it. Agree?