Edward Bernays: Early 1900 economic influencer and father of public relations. How the idea of mass manipulation can be economic gold for businesses.

Do you ever notice advertisements that feel like they're speaking to your emotion, or media coverage that keeps propagating the same narrative over and over until you remember is verbatim? Former Nazi propogandist Joseph Goebbels stated, "If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth", this tactic is known as the illusion of truth. The idea of propaganda, creating an illusion of truth and narratives predates the Nazis and starts with the influence of Edward Bernays.

Edward Bernays was born in 1891 and later moved with his family from Austria-Hungary to New York City in the 1890's. Edward is the nephew of neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud. Edward would later utilize writings and teachings from his uncle Sigmund to utilize in his future public relations ideology. He obtained his degree in agriculture from Cornell University in 1912, working random jobs until WW1 started. Upon fruition of WW1 Bernays was hired by the Commitee of Public Relations and worked in Psychological Warfare. He utilized businesses to distribute literature throughout Europe to understand why America went there and manipulate the objective and demonize the enemy. It was his time there that he realized that the tactics used in war to manipulate the enemy, could be used against the masses during peacetime.

Following the war US President Calvin Coolidge hired Bernays for his services and appeal to the American public. Coolidge was not outgoing and likable, to make him appeal to the general public Bernays started a pancake breakfast with Coolidge at the white house and invited members of the media and business leaders. This worked by peaking interest in the average American to make Coolidge appear on the same level as the average American. This opened up more opportunities for Bernays and the future of marketing and public influence started when he was hired by The American Tobacco Company.

This was the moment Bernays utilized the tools provided to him by his uncle and his ability to psychoanalyze the public. His uncle Dr. Freud stated, "The masses are irrational and subject to herd instinct". Prior to Bernays advertising was primitive and simply provided basic information on the product and its features. Bernays utilized teachings from Freud and decided to utilize a connection of the product to the consumers emotions and personal identities and it worked masterfully. His most famous marketing campaign took place at the 1929 Easter parade in New York City. He had young, impressionable, attractive women walk around and smoke cigarettes and referred to them as torches of freedom. The pictures of the women were used in advertisements with the slogan torches of freedom. He connected the product with women and the time period of women's suffrage, promoted the slimming effects of smoking, and this connected with the women of America. The sales for American Tobacco Company more than doubled after this campaign.

It was in the 1920's that Germany's Joseph Goebbels took interest in Bernays and his tactics to appeal to the masses. He utilized motion pictures and the promotion of Nazi friendly only literature to promote antisemitism. He promoted the mass production of cheap radios to provide to German citizens that would be more effective in promoting their propaganda daily. This is the dichotomy of the power of effective marketing or manipulation, the means for a just or unjust approach is based on the people wielding the power to manipulate.

Companies today still utilize the techniques created by Edward Bernays. Consumers see on average of five thousand advertisements per day and US companies spend into the hundreds of billions as a whole annually towards marketing. It has become so normalized today that most people don't realize almost everything they see or hear is paid for and or created in some way for a marketing tactic toward an individual or group. The bottom line or net income is all that matters to most companies without regard to the consumer in mind. Therefore, understanding the mindset and approach of Bernays compared to that of Goebbels will allow the consumer to understand that not all persuasion is good. Most marketing today is guilt driven or passive without the consumer fully understanding they are being marketed to. Being honest may make items or services difficult to sell, that is why Edward Bernays will forever be known as the father of spin.

Bibliography

Bernays, Edward, and Mitch Horowitz. Crystallizing Public Opinion. Original Classic edition. New York: G & D Media, 2019.

Campbell, Kenneth J. “Joseph Goebbels: Propagandist.” American Intelligence Journal 30, no. 2 (2012): 125–34. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26202024.

Bernays, Edward L. Public Relations . Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2014.