For those of us who don’t speak French, the song featured in last night’s premiere of “Mad Men” may have imparted a slight feeling of confusion…but I think we all got the message, anyway.
The song, which translates loosely to “Oh! Kiss, Kiss!”, was sung by French Canadian actress Jessica Pare, who plays Don Draper’s new wife Megan. In what was perhaps the best scene in the episode, Megan throws a surprise party for Don’s 40th birthday and, after a few drinks, joins the live band for a sexy little rendition of the song, complete with burlesque-like dance moves in a saucy little mini-skirt. The performance was meant to be a gift to Don, but the entire party took something away from it (including Harry, who hilariously made an embarrassing gaffe about Megan’s “gift” while she was within earshot); as Megan told Peggy while going over the guest list, “Everyone’s going to go home from this and have sex.”
The song, originally recorded by Gillian Hills in 1962, is a snappy pop number that will get stuck in your head after one listen, and AMC apparently anticipated this, as they released a digital version of it on iTunes at midnight and will also be offering a special-edition vinyl copy on their website.
Twitter, which was abuzz after the premiere episode ended, is now flooded with tweets about the song.
Tim Tebow would break the internet if he started singing Zou Bisou Bisou right now… to Mark Sanchez. #MadMen #skinnytiesrule
Did you catch Megan’s sultry birthday dance on #MadMen last night? The pop origins of the 1960s hit Zou Bisou Bisou: http://t.co/Cte5lRTG
Anybody else having trouble getting that Zou Bisou Bisou song out of their head? #MadMen
Let’s all make a pact: if any of our business meetings today get boring then we break into Zou Bisou Bisou song and dance mode 😉 #madmen