Source
r/madmen•
Netaw

What exactly does Bert do at the agency?

I've been wondering since I started watching. It made sense in early seasons that he would not do anything as he was the big boss, but now he really isn't anymore.

So what the fuck is he doing all day? Making comments about other people's work? He sure does seem pretty worthless to the agency.

The way he talks to Don really pisses me off seeing as he basically doesn't do anything, unless im missing something but he sure as hell isn't creative or an account man.

So anyone knows what exactly does he do?

Posted May 5, 2014, 12:03 PM UTC

5353
NouberNou•

He secretly works on his fried chicken recipes.

138
Slippery_Jim•

You know some day he will be in a biopic of the colonel.

5
[deleted]•

  1. Makes sure folks take off their shoes.

  2. Puts the black folk in their place.

  3. Disrespects dead English folks.

84
wildebeestsandangels420 blaze it campbell•
  1. Reminisces fondly on the memory of murdering Dr. Lyle Evans.
18
TheDhan•

and the occasional case of being a dick to don.

8
tjmagg•

He steers the ship, which is why his office is front and center of the account floor. Because he's got the most experience, any problems that occur in the agency he's likely seen before and could provide guidance.

What I'm interested in is what he did originally. He couldn't have just sat in his office in the early days of SC. I think he previously said that he was doing what Harry did at some point, so I guess media acquisition? Maybe some creative work?

41
daveeb•

During Season 5, when Lane enters contact with Jaguar, the partners recommend to him that he should choose another account man to work with Jaguar due to his lack of experience in the area. Bert's name was mentioned as a possibility, so he may have worked in accounts as well at some point. He also seems to be heavily interested in client relations.

23
tjmagg•

So I guess Bert wears many hats. He has enough experience with people and the business that he can run the agency by himself, but he'd probably drop dead after a week.

11
danvasquez29•

think about how old bert is, especially in relation to the time period. there probably wasn't a ton of specialization going on when he started.

15
tjmagg•

Excellent point.

7
olivedoesntrhyme•

luckily there's a pretty good documentary about his early days at the agency http://imgur.com/arRjD5h

13
tjmagg•

Another great point. After reading How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying he turned to Ayn Rand.

2
BigE42984•

So he had his hand in everything, mailroom to executive!

2
jimmyking23•

He was originally a media guy in the days before television. I don't remember in particular how this was established but I do recall Harry Crane being exasperated with Cooper after the Broadway Joe on Broadway thing and saying essentially "You know how valuable I am, you were me!" suggesting that he was a media buyer/manager originally.

38
wildebeestsandangels420 blaze it campbell•

"I was different from you, Mr. Crane, in every possible way." I love bitchy Bert, as long as it's not directed at my boy Don.

25
mjc6290•

I think the point is that he doesn't really do anything... Bert is older than Roger, but you can see Roger getting to that point now. Roger used to be head of accounts and be heavily involved in client relations. Now he's barely in the office. I think that's just the career arc of a partner. Eventually, you pass your prime, and act more as a figurehead, for stability purposes. You'll see this a lot in law firms; rarely do the really old, tenured partners still involve themselves in cases, much less step foot in a courtroom.

29
Scary_The_ClownWhen we grow up we're going to kill you and marry your wife•

It's also possible he's a rainmaker/liaison for some of their huge accounts. Do we know all of their biggest accounts?

26
Tartz55•

I would assume that Chevy is their biggest account. And long before that it was Lucky Strike which they said took up close to 60% of their billings and that was Roger's account.

9
gildedtreehouse•

He borrowed money from his sister to help start the original Sterling Cooper with Rodger's dad. He's also connected with old money in New York as talked about his connections to clubs and spending time in smokers with Republican Illuminati. String puller.

19
MrPotatoButtThe Universe is indifferent.•

...but apparently his relevance to the industry changed with the times.

2
fshklr1•

It struck me as odd how he jumped on Don for even suggesting someone make a run at the computer company. I would have thought Bert would have been happy that Don was trying to grow the company.

11
liatris•

[I think u/HoldOnMagnolia had a good insight into this here....](http://www.reddit.com/r/madmen/comments/24q6xw/mad_men_season_7_episode_4_the_monolith/ch9w262)

He didn't dig at Don. He put him in his place. Don came back not realizing that he is in business partner timeout because he spent all of season 6 as a petulant child who created an unstable workplace. Bert recognizes Don's talents, he's worked with him for so many years even knowing his secret, but he also understands that creatives on Madison Avenue in 1969 are a dime a dozen. Computers haven't completely changed how the industry works so Don is overplaying his hand based on the assumption that his job is essentially the same. The stipulations he signed are not part of an informal agreement, he should not be trying to feel out where the boundaries are. Bert calling Don a dead fish in so many words was a warning.

It takes Freddy to knock the sense into Don that the arrangement has changed and he no longer possesses the power that a founding partner should have.

15
MrPotatoButtThe Universe is indifferent.•

I think the notion is too charitable.

Bert wanted to Don to understand that he's not "important" to the company anymore, and (more important) they didn't even want Don to return. Basically, the owners voted him back only because they didn't want to financially tap themselves out buying out Don's shares. (Although that was not directly communicated to Don by Bert.)

10
liatris•

Great point. I don'tthink that actually occurred to Don up until last night.

The AV Club review said something similar to here which never occurred to me.

As much as I felt for Don in this episode, his behavior is also extraordinarily frustrating—on purpose! Here is a man who has somehow finagled a second chance—and yet he’s now on the verge of blowing it. It’s very real—too real—for both Don Draper as a character and Don Draper as a symbol of the casually privileged white man. After all our speculation last week about why he accepted the terrible offer the partners gave him, the reason now as to why Don said yes is obvious: He really didn’t think they were serious. Or if he did, he suspected he’d be able to charm his way out of it. On some level, he came back to work, but as I’m sure many of you can attest, an office is not always the best place for work. There’s socializing and politics to be addressed, first.

4
MrPotatoButtThe Universe is indifferent.•

And I'd say, "blowing what chance"? I don't think the partners really offered him "a chance". They just want to resolve the situation caused by his ownership shares. They're just couching it in language that will be helpful to them in civil court.

3
EatDrinkBoogie•

Bert wanted to Don to understand that he's not "important" to the company anymore, and (more important) they didn't even want Don to return. Basically, the owners voted him back only because they didn't want to financially tap themselves out buying out Don's shares.

What I don't understand about this development, is why doesn't Don just go to another firm? Even as damaged goods he was still heavily recruited by other agencies.. he could easily assume a more powerful position elsewhere. Is it just a matter of pride and not being able to let go a company he co-founded?

Also, I have to wonder if the exchange with Lloyd (LeaseTech) will portend doom for Don's future at SC&P. Lloyd could probably smell the alcohol on Don's breath when he got in his face..

1
MrPotatoButtThe Universe is indifferent.•

If Don went to another firm, his shares in SC&P would be forfeit, including what money he initially put into the startup (SCDP). Even so, it may have been a better choice just to abandon his SC&P shares, since ownership is no guarantee they will retain value, and the lawyers could eat up all his assets if he pursued the matter in court.

No matter what firm he went to, he would not be in a more powerful position, because he would not own shares in the company. He may not even be appointed Creative Director.

3
lost_my_pw_again•

Bert is conservative. Highly unlikely that he sees that computer thing as more than a thing with blinking lights no one needs. For him that is not a big business, of course for us viewers...

3
fshklr1•

True. I didn't think to look at it from the perspective of an 80 plus year old man in the late 1960's.

2
nonliteral•

Enforce shoe policy and wait to die.

6
skylander495•

He keeps the black secretaries from sitting at the lobby desk

6
lunarhugsMr Campbell, who cares?•

Same thing Stan Lee did at Marvel for most of the 80s/90s: class up the joint

4
LegendaryGrunt•

He's got people skills dammit!

4
devilsadvocate33•

From "shoeless zen sage" to "racist curmudgeon who clearly does not like Donald Draper!!!", I've never liked Bert.

The writers haven't done his characters any favors, either; as far as I can remember, which admittedly isn't much, all we've gotten are a few references to powerful people/institutions and an old friend of his stopping by. and voilà; instant power-broker/venerated captain of industry/old money dude. His character was cheaply done.

And now, he exists solely to provide weight to the witch-hunt. If it was just Cutler and Joan vs. Don, Roger and Don would have laughed them out the door and then headed to the bar.

At the very least, if they were going with the (completely ludicrous and sloppy) premise of "let's have the partners hire Don's replacement before a: they've hashed out what to do with Don, and b: Don even leaves the building!", they should have made Lou strongly connected to Bert. It would have added weight to both Lou and Bert's character, and things would have made a bit more sense.

4
byronbbThe wettest place on Earth•

He's part of the illuminati.

3
RileyWWarrick•

I think Bert is the man with connections into New York's elite crowd, and has leveraged those contacts into business for the agency. I thought Bert's harsh comments to Don were out of place for his character. Bert has always struck me as a business man first. Last episode he talked about Don's situation as a financial decision for the agency, and not a personal o e. Why would Bert turn down new business? As Don said, have someone else work on it.

3
spid3rfly•

His attitude for the past few seasons have really annoyed me. Almost like he's the old gpa that thinks he knows everything.

On the other hand... He did have a "How-to" manual while he climbed the corporate ladder 50 years ago.

2
Crennie20•

I always assumed he was mainly just the money behind the company.

2
kuyakew•

When you get that high up in a creative agency, or any workplace probably, you only tackle the very high-level big general problems. Steering the company in a wide sense but trusting all the people below you to execute. They also act as the face of the company to the client and act as the final word during large problems. They can be as hands off or hands on as they wish.

2
[deleted]•

I wouldnt be surprised if Bert is a murderer or sexual deviant.

1†
alfreedomIt's different inside.•

I think based on what we know about Bert we can safely rule out the latter...

14
treyhtx89Doctor said he'll never golf again•

he's a eunuch!

7
REALLYHIGHPSI•

He's like an old timey Yoda.

1