Roger This, Roger That: Why We Love Roger Sterling

He’s crude, sarcastic and insensitive.  He drinks more than he womanizes, and that’s saying something.

Yet, we can’t wait for his comments about an idea or his conversations with Don Draper or his arguments with Peter Campbell.  We love to hear him speak, see him react and observe his daily life.  In short, we love Roger Sterling.  But, why?

Is it his charm? His wit? His arrogance?  Maybe it’s his ability to stay calm, cool and collected, or maybe it’s just his snappy attitude.  Whatever it is, we can all agree that he is one of the most interesting, lovable characters on the show.  He’s Don’s compatriot, Joan’s lover and Pete’s worst nightmare.  He’s just…Roger.

A World War II veteran and heir to the Sterling name, Roger Sterling serves as a partner and Account Executive for the newly formed Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce agency on Madison Ave., New York City.  He was given the reins to the business by his father and works with his much older (original) partner, Bert Cooper.  These two couldn’t be any more opposite to each other.  Sterling is a lively, hot-headed jester.  Cooper is a quiet, reserved  and old-fashioned eccentric.   Cooper is the brains, while Sterling is the mouth.  Throughout the show, we love to hear these two have conversations because they deal with life in completely different ways.  Sterling drinks, cusses and jokes.  Cooper meditates.

At this point, Sterling has been involved with countless women, including his first wife, Annabelle Mathis, ex-wife Mona, current wife Jane, and flame Joan Harris.  He has a knack for promiscuity, which is common for men in this business. A lot of men owned apartments in the city, while their wives took care of the children in the suburbs.  Mistresses ran amok.

Roger is also very traditional in his understanding of the advertising world at this point.  He’s learned the art of wining and dining with clients as well as the innerworkings of the advertising process.  Things have always been done this way.  There’s a formula to this business, and Roger is a master.

But, what happens when it changes?  And we all know it does because it did.

What happens to Roger when his world isn’t consumed by just paying for dinner and sucking up?  What happens after the Creative Revolution?  What happens when the dinosaurs of advertising become obsolete, their skills outdated?  What will Roger do then?  Sure, it’s not like he can’t retire.  He’s got plenty of money.  He’s older.

But what will happen to this hardworking, witty advertiser when he’s forced to give up his chair to the younger kid?  Someone like Pete Campbell will come along and prove that the old ways don’t work anymore, that it’s more than cocktails and lunch dates.  Advertising is a changing monster, and people like our friend Mr. Sterling here are increasingly irrelevant to the equation.

We feel for Roger because he love his personality and his style.  We love him because he isn’t perfect and doesn’t try to be or care.  The advertising world has changed dramatically since the days of Roger Sterling, but we still hold on to that age and respect the men who did what they did.  They were titans who built huge brands that we still use today.  They were the originals, and we wouldn’t have the foundation for advertising today without these old guys.

So, why do we love Roger Sterling, really?

I think it’s because we feel sorry for him, honestly.  Personally, when I see the changes in the industry, and even the world, affect the office of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, I often think about the way these people’s lives will be affected.  The most noticeable and worrisome life I think about is Mr. Sterling’s.  Don, Peggy, Pete, Ken, Joan, Harry and the rest will adapt because they are young.  They are hardworking, free-thinking individuals who earned their spots.  Even Cooper is more likely to thrive in the new world than Sterling.  Cooper is open-minded and calm.  Sterling, on the other hand, is set in his ways.  He was handed this throne by his father, and only had to drink and joke his way to the top.  He isn’t a bad or lazy person, but his circumstances have created a Roger that is strangely dated.  This is why we love him.  He’s very opinionated and specific, but this makes him funny and engaging.  He is stubborn and arrogant, but this makes his demeanor so interesting to watch.

In the end, we love this character for many reasons, but the overall idea of his future makes us want to watch him struggle in the changing world and root for him all the way.

He’s our oldest, cockiest friend, and we love him for it.

 

Let’s get down to business!

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” -Ernest Hemingway

It’s not always as easy as that.   We’ve all been at this point in our writing process: the beginning.  It’s a painful struggle that everyone must overcome if they are to write something at all.  It’s so simple, yet entirely too difficult at times.

This is my starting point.

Well, not exactly.  I’ve attempted to start several writing projects.  In my previous blogs, notebooks and stories, I tend to make some headway in the beginning, but end up trailing off and losing my drive.  However, things are different now.

I’ve decided that I can’t just allow myself to lost steam in my work.  It’s a terrible habit with which to become acquainted, and one to which I refuse to succumb.

What’s the solution?  Discipline.

I don’t believe that creativity necessarily requires discipline.  One can produce excellent work without practicing, but it will come at irregular intervals.  It will be inefficient if that person is trying to make a living, trying to create a volume of quality work.  It is only when you regularly practice a process that you are able to obtain mastery in it.  Your goals and ambitions come at a price.  It takes a certain amount of sacrifice, an exact point of focus and an infinite supply of drive.

This blog is a way to keep me sharp and productive.  I will focus on being concise, excellent and relevant.

So, stay tuned for an interesting ride through my thoughts, dreams and pieces.

-LTJ