Young .26 Rubicam protest incident A Little Kiss

on may 28, 1966, advertising executives young & rubicam dropped water bombs on unsuspecting black protesters, including 9-year-old mike robinson. uncredited child actor portrays fictionalized version of robinson in fifth-season premiere of mad men.

in unusual departure series, opening scene of season premiere largely re-creation of true event occurred @ young & rubicam advertising agency. original story detailing event published on page 1 of may 28, 1966, edition of new york times. goldwater 68 poster seen in window of young & rubicam during little kiss present on day of real event, including poster read if want money, job (echoed 1 character s scream of job! @ protesters in premiere).

the incident notable water bombs thrown executive floor, housed young & rubicam advertising agency. 2 water balloons struck 19-year-old james hill, slipped , fell on pavement, not hurt. other hit 9-year-old mike robinson. mother, mrs. esme robinson, along other black protestors , new york times reporter, came executive floor complain. mike robinson, esme robinson, protestor vivian harris, , times reporter john kifner portrayed in opening scene. dialogue in scene taken directly original article. vivian harris said the, , call savages line, television critic mike hale called unfortunately hamhanded , fellow critic matt zoller seitz called terrible line when reviewed premiere, apparently unaware real quote. on day of real event, young & rubicam office manager frank coppola apologized women incident, saying have 1,600 people in building , can t control of them. ve ordered of windows closed , have men patrolling floors make sure doesn t happen again. coppola s assurance windows closed similar character don draper s idea of our windows don t open in sterling cooper draper pryce s mocking want ad seen later in episode.

after head researcher mad men, allison hill, found original article, handed showrunner matthew weiner, blown away . “i loved level of outrage participants in protest. eloquently said, , struck heart of conflict. being lampooned. serious issue them , joke else, weiner said. original new york times reporter, john kifner, not remember actual event, mentioning did lot of poverty , racial stuff. not remember original article, excited when heard story inspired premiere. current chief executive of young & rubicam, david sable, did not know whether original employees fired, found actions repulsive , not in line values of our company .