In 1928, Edward Bernays published his famous book, Propaganda, in which he outlined the theories behind his successful “public relations” endeavours. The book provides insights into the phenomenon of crowd psychology and outlines effective methods for manipulating people’s habits and opinions. Sigmund Freud, the original man-with-couch, wasn’t the only member of that particular bloodline to make a lasting mark on the way people think about thought. Of course, his daughter Anna had some claim to fame as a candidate for least successful therapist ever. But, more on par with Freud’s own success, his influence’s scale and staying power, is that of his nephew Edward Louis Bernays. Alan Bilton (2013). Silent Film Comedy and American Culture. Palgrave Macmillan. p.16. ISBN 978-1-137-02025-3. Archived from the original on 2020-05-07 . Retrieved 2017-08-26.

It is one of the methods by which big business performs its function of making and selling products to the public.During World War II, Bernays advised the Office of War Information, as well as the Army and Navy. He was chairman of the National Advisory Committee of the Third U.S. War Loan, co-chairman of the Victory Book campaign, and part of the New York State Defense Council. During the Cold War he advised the United States Information Agency. [36] Go on they did. During the following days women were reported to be taking to the streets, lighted cigarettes in hand, in Boston and Detroit, Wheeling and San Francisco." Hasselriis, Caspar Henrik Wolffsen (1959). Helligdag: erindringer (in Danish). Udgivet af Dansk samvirke hos E. Munksgaard. p.143. Archived from the original on 2016-05-24 . Retrieved 2016-04-18. ... at han vilde engagere den kendte Public Relations Ekspert Edward L. Bernays til at være Raadgiver. ... Resultatet blev Dannelsen af "American Friends of Danish Freedom and Democracy", et Navn foreslaaet af Mr. Bernays, som mente, ... This had long predated the birth of the more recent psychological movement called “ Nudge Theory“, rebranded by Richard Thaler after his book “ Nudge“. The Case for Reappraisal of U.S. Overseas Information Policies and Programs (Incorporating Congressman Fascell's Report), with Burnet Hershey, eds. New York: Praeger (1970).

Cutlip, Scott M. The Unseen Power: Public Relations. A History. Hove, UK: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1994. ISBN 0-8058-1465-5Edward Louis Bernays ( / b ɜːr ˈ n eɪ z/ bur- NAYZ, German: [bɛʁˈnaɪs]; November 22, 1891 − March 9, 1995) was an American theorist, considered a pioneer in the field of public relations and propaganda, and referred to in his obituary as "the father of public relations". [3] His best-known campaigns include a 1929 effort to promote female smoking by branding cigarettes as feminist " Torches of Freedom", and his work for the United Fruit Company in the 1950s, connected with the CIA-orchestrated overthrow of the democratically elected Guatemalan government in 1954. He worked for dozens of major American corporations, including Procter & Gamble and General Electric, and for government agencies, politicians, and nonprofit organizations. And big businessmen are more and more performing on the public stage not out of genuine beliefs, but to drive sales.

Tye, Larry. The Father of Spin: Edward L. Bernays and the Birth of Public Relations. New York: Crown, 1998. ISBN 0-8050-6789-2 Having seen how effective propaganda could be during war, Bernays wondered whether it might prove equally useful during peacetime. He helped to name the President's Emergency Committee for Employment, suggesting this name as preferable to the "Committee for Unemployment". [36] Axelrod, Alan (2009). Selling the Great War: The Making of American Propaganda. St. Martin's Publishing Group. p.200. ISBN 978-0-230-61959-3. Archived from the original on May 8, 2020 . Retrieved May 21, 2020. Because it should appear as news with no division of the publicity, actresses should be definitely out. On the other hand, if young women who stand for feminism—someone from the Women's Party, say—could be secured, the fact that the movement would be advertised too, would not be bad. . . While they should be goodlooking, they should not be too 'model-y.' Three for each church covered should be sufficient. Of course they are not to smoke simply as they come down the church steps. They are to join in the Easter parade, puffing away.Colford, Paul D. (December 5, 1991). "A Birthday Salute to the Father of Public Relations". Newsday (Nassaued.). Part II p. 78. Archived from the original on July 20, 2013 . Retrieved February 24, 2016. Olasky (1984), pp. 13–14. "What Potter did not understand, though, is that the contradictions apparent to a classically-trained political scientist formed a seamless web in the new world of public relations that Bernays was proposing. If the 'individual common man' has no real individuality, as Bernays argued in Propaganda—only 'rubber stamping' by one propagandist or another, then one more duping does no harm to individual souls. And if Hitler had hit upon the techniques and used them for evil purposes, then that would be all the more reason—given the inevitability of these techniques being put into use and the inability of men to resist them—for those hoping to avoid the chaos to rush the techniques into use before evil could turn them into a triumph of fire." A desperate Herbert Hoover consulted with Bernays a month before the 1932 presidential election. Bernays advised Hoover to create disunity within his opposition and to present an image of him as an invincible leader. [34] Joseph Turow (2011). Media Today: An Introduction to Mass Communication. New York, New York: Routledge. Bernays used the same techniques on children. To convince kids that bathing could be fun, he sponsored soap sculpture competitions and floating contests. These were designed to prove that Ivory bars were more buoyant than competing products.

In late 19th-Century Britain a variety of foods became accessible to the average person, who would previously have lived on bread and potatoes – consumption beyond mere subsistence. This improvement in food variety did not extend durable items to the mass of people, however. The proliferating shops and department stores of that period served only a restricted population of urban middle-class people in Europe, but the display of tempting products in shops in daily public view was greatly extended – and display was a key element in the fostering of fashion and envy.The centerpiece of his efforts was the Green Ball, a social event at the Waldorf Astoria, hosted by Narcissa Cox Vanderlip. The pretext for the ball and its unnamed underwriter was that proceeds would go to charity. Famous society women would attend wearing green dresses. Manufacturers and retailers of clothing and accessories were advised of the excitement growing around the color green. Intellectuals were enlisted to give highbrow talks on the theme of green. Before the ball had taken place, newspapers and magazines (encouraged in various ways by Bernays's office) had latched on to the idea that green was all the rage. [49] Modus operandi [ edit ] Universal suffrage and education are a threat to the aristocracy, the bourgeoisie, and the people with power.