Bernays established the social field of public relations in the form of propaganda and was highly influential in providing the foundation for modern advertisers. Edward became known as the ‘Father of Public Relations’ (Tye, 1998) his psychological and sociological techniques date back to his experience working for the United States propaganda.
Manipulating a mass audience Edward’s theories were adopted by his uncle Sigmud Freud, Freud believed that ‘irrational forces’ determined our behaviour (Bryan, 2009, 61) with this key concept he then applied it to his own propaganda practices ‘Men are rarely aware of the real reasons which motivate their actions’. (Bernays, 1928, 74) Bernays believed that one could manipulate the masses to persuade them
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Smoking cigarettes at the time had not been scientifically proven to be damaging to health, one of the physicians asked, Dr. A.A. Brill. Brill voiced that ‘It is perfectly normal for women to want to smoke cigarettes; more women now do the same work as men do. Cigarettes, which are equated with men, become torches of freedom’. (Tye, 1998, 28). With the concept of trying to increase cigarette sales Bernays constructed a plan for a group of young ‘independent’ women during the Easter Sunday parade hosted in New York City to light their cigarettes at once, their own ‘torches of freedom’. Knowing that photographers would quickly capture this event, the event would soon be published in newspapers across the nation; Edwards’s experiment of appealing to the masses emotions in order to successfully sell worked. Across America women would see this as a feminist suffragettes movement act linking the notion that smoking would be a powerful symbolic tool of status and independence making it socially acceptable for women to smoke in public, dramatizing the notion that indeed cigarettes were in fact ‘torches of …show more content…
Even though Bernays’ advertising campaign wasn’t photographically manipulated the psychological implications of the imagery published across the nation manipulated a targeted audience into purchasing ‘Lucky Strike Cigarettes’. By selling them a particular lifestyle along with a symbolic tool of significance bridging a gap between the idea of buying an object and the irrational feelings towards the object. Sales of cigarettes from the manipulated campaign saw American tobacco’s profits climb to an all time high of $32 million that year and ‘Luck Strike Cigarettes’ had been the most successful, not only that but market research into cigarettes showed that in 1923 only 5% of cigarette sales were women, then following the Easter Sunday experiment that figure rose to 12% and then in 1955 cigarette sales showed that 55% of women were now smoking. (Tye, 1998,
In the 1946 advertisement, Reynolds had the results of a survey that the company had conducted using three different research organizations. On the advertisement it stated, “Doctors in every branch of medicine-113,597 in all- were queried in a nationwide study of cigarette preference… The brand named most was Camel.” Although, as it turns out the surveys were actually fixed, it still gives the viewer a fact to h...
“I’d Rather Smoke than Kiss.” is Florence King’s very astute retort to anti-smokers. In this writing she advocates for smoking as a simple enjoyable thing to do. To emphasize this she recalls her first smoking experience, which is for the most part very normal and unexciting. However, this inconsequential account is not indicative of the rest of the story. King quickly switches gears as she goes on the attack. In the first section she labels hatred of smokers as a form of misanthropy which she goes on to say is “the most popular form of closet misanthropy in America today” (King 32). This perspective is further augmented by the fact that she considers second-hand smoke an invention; a means for the “Passive Americans” (King 32), to justify prejudice towards smokers.
Smoking tested women’s freedom since mainly prostitute were seeing smoking in public. It also symbolized the equality of rights for women.
Often Advertising uses persuasion to inform the audience; in fact it is the most import aspect to advertising. Advertising would simply be a conversation between the communicator and their recipients if persuasion weren’t present. Although the basic purposes are to inform and persuade, it is left to the audience when it comes to differentiating between factual information and unethical persuasive tactics. The persuader, wishes for the consumer to act or believe in a certain way. Whether sought after actions are positive or negative, ends up being the question. In the modern world it has become more difficult to differentiate between truths and untruths; mainly due to the technological advances in advertising medium. Differentiating between facts and propaganda becomes increasingly more challenging when it comes to politics. Whether it is an election for student senate or the United States general election for Presidency; there are a lot of factors weighing in on the decision process. During an election year, persuasive tactics become essential in the success of a campaign. Although many voters have made up their minds when they are first bombarded by the political campaigning, these pre-developed opinions are not viewed as an impenetrable force by the campaigner. The campaigner typically recognizes these patterns in opinion and instead aims to persuade them from a different angle, most commonly the emotions surrounding the issues rather than the issues themselves. This paradigm changed in political persuasion was first seen September 7, 1964 when a rattling ad for Lynden Johnson played over NBC. The ad now known as “Daisy Girl” forever changed political persuasion in advertising. With this change came the issue of ethi...
first cigarette. Cigarette advertising has been a long standing debate that has been glorified and
Tobacco companies have relied on the media to lure children. They quickly realized that ‘the company that dominates is that which most effectively targets young”(Imperial Tobacco document.) To counteract the idea of disease and other negative aspects of tobacco, the industry used imagery in the media such as natural settings and healthy actors doing active things. This helps them to insinuate that smoking leads to success, romance, sophistication and other advancements in their lifestyle, which was easily imprinted in the minds of children. A document found among Imperial tobacco files described their priority: “…having our imagery reach those non-reading young people who frequent malls should be our chief goal.”(1.170) Unaware of how important the under 18 market was to the industry, the government could only attempt to lengthen the distance between schools and billboards because they’re ineffective attempts were ignored by the large corporations. With many billboards concentrated in small areas it put the idea in children’s minds that smoking was socially acceptable and that t...
“Propaganda means any attempt to persuade anyone to a belief or to form an action. We live our lives surrounded by propaganda; we create enormous amounts of it ourselves; and we f...
Laird, Pamela, “Consuming Smoke: Cigarettes in American Culture.” University of Colorado at Denver. Author of Advertising Progress: American Business and the Rise of Consumer Marketing. 1998
In the book, Propaganda, author Edward L Bernays, who is nephew of Sigmund Freud, transcends the public relation industry. This short, 13-part instructional manual delves deep into the intricacies and usage of propaganda. Bernays claims that the public is in a constant state of manipulation. He argues that in order for a society to be highly functioning and stable, public opinion must be manipulated and swayed. While I find his claims disturbing, it was refreshing to read something so blunt. Bernays’ use of psychological techniques to work the mechanics of public opinion truly classifies him as the “father of public relations.”
As civilization grows and the tentacles of mass media stretch into mankind’s mind from every direction, it is important to note the damaging effects of the images being shown to the masses. In a society where the model being used to sell products to the consumer is on average 20% thinner than the demographic of the consumers themselves (Abraham 3), it’s impossible to ignore the influence these marketing campaigns have on individual psyches. This is supported by the Dittmar and Howard Journal statement on the negative effects of media influence:
Through this informative documentary the viewer is made known of Edward Bernay. He may be known by few, but his work is still around today. In Adam Curtis’s documentary of “The Century of the Self” Bernay’s, very unfamiliar, field of work is shown to affect people all around. Edward Bernay pioneered the field of propaganda and public relations. He engineered a plan by connecting people emotionally to an object or idea then a person would be more likely to classify it as a need instead of a want.
The evidence, while unsubstantiated, is convincing. Hard data is used to prove the point, and it is stated that cigarette production tripled between 1914 and 1919, rising from 18 billion to 54 billion cigarette. Class is arguably a factor in this apparent spike in cigarette smoking, as soldiers were generally seen to be upstanding members of society. Gender plays a massive role, as even though the war would have required the full effort of every American, it was the men used in advertising. The linking of patriotism, soldiers, and cigarettes is undoubtedly a brilliant marketing manoeuvre. The author falters as he claims cigarettes became tied with the positive values of American masculinity. While the claim is cited, and is conceivable, it is still unproven within the
The discipline of public relations is a modern profession which has been in existence for only close to a century; however, it has already taken an important role in the fields of business, government, entertainment and non-profit organizations including educational institutions and healthcare organizations. Public relations professionals are required to have excellent organizational, interpersonal and communication skills and have the ability to persuade the public. It is imperative for PR professionals to effectively communicate with its public in order to establish and maintain a positive relationship. Furthermore, public relations professionals must have the ability to work under pressure and effectively manage crisis which may have detrimental effect on the company and the public it serves. State purpose of paper and an overview of what will be covered in the introduction
... Propaganda and Mass Persuasion: A Historical Encyclopedia 1500 to the Present. ABC-CLIO. 2003. Google Books. Web.12 April 2011.
PRATKANIS, Anthony and ARONSON, Elliot. Age of Propaganda: The Everyday Use and Abuse of Persuasion . New York : W.H. Freeman and Company, 1991.