Using mass psychology to develop corporate and political persuasive messages. Edward L. Bernays influenced the evolution of the public relations field and in-turn the times he lived in from World War I through the start of the Information Age. This paper looks at Bernays' career and legacy. It considers how Bernays' work was influenced by his uncle Sigmund Freud. Also it looks at Bernays' role in helping the development of consumer capitalism. Finally the paper discusses Bernays' legacy as a pioneering genius in the field of public relations, but also the criticism that Bernays was an elitist willing to abuse the powers of mass persuasion.

ResearchGate Logo

Discover the world's research

  • 20+ million members
  • 135+ million publications
  • 700k+ research projects

Join for free

Running head: THE CAREER AND TIMES OF EDWARD L. BERNAYS

1

The Career, Times, and Legacy of Edward L. Bernays

Frank Fletcher, Ed.D./MBA

September 21, 2014

THE CAREER AND TIMES OF EDWARD L. BERNAYS

2

Abstract

Using mass psychology to develop corporate and political persuasive messages. Edward L.

Bernays influenced the evolution of the public relations field and in-turn the times he lived in

from World War I through the start of the Information Age. This paper looks at Bernays' career

and legacy. It considers how Bernays' work was influenced by his uncle Sigmund Freud. Also it

looks at Bernays' role in helping the development of consumer capitalism. Finally the paper

discusses Bernays' legacy as a pioneering genius in the field of public relations, but also the

criticism that Bernays was an elitist willing to abuse the powers of mass persuasion.

.

THE CAREER AND TIMES OF EDWARD L. BERNAYS

3

The Career and Times of Edward L. Bernays

Edward L. Bernays, considered by some the "Father of Public Relations," died in 1995 at

age of 103. His obituary in the New York Times observed that depending on your point of view,

he was "either a benefactor of the human race or someone who had a lot to answer for." While

Bernays identified himself as a public relations counselor, his detractors described him as a

glorified press agent or an "evil puppet master." (1995, March 10). Regardless, by using mass

psychology to develop corporate and political persuasive messages, the nephew of Sigmund

Freud, taught generations how to sway public opinion and was recognized by Life Magazine as

one of the most influential

Americans of the 20

th

Century (1990, September 1).

This paper examines his career and times, his influence on the field of public

relations, and in-turn how public relations influenced our world from the end of World War

I through the Information Age. It explores the theories and techniques Bernays' developed

and how he used them in various campaigns. Finally, Bernays' legacy is considered.

Bernays & Freud

More than a hundred years ago, Freud uncovered "primitive, sexual, and aggressive

forces hidden deep inside the minds of all human beings," according to Adam Curtis, who

directed "The Century of Self." (2002) From this understanding of the subconscious came a new

concept of "self" and in-turn new ideas on how to satisfy people's inner selfish desires and

ultimately control the masses. Curtis contends that overtime Freud's work lead to the rise of

today's "political spin doctors, marketing moguls, and society's belief that the pursuit of

satisfaction and happiness is man's ultimate goal." (2002)

THE CAREER AND TIMES OF EDWARD L. BERNAYS

4

Edward Bernays took what his uncle (Sigmund Freud) developed and applied it to public

relations. He was among the first to understand the implications of the subconscious mind and

how this knowledge can be used to sell products and ideas. He advised American organizations

how to link mass produced products to people unconscious desires. This immediately set

Bernays apart from his public relations peers.

For Bernays public relations was a social science and its practitioners need to apply the

concepts and techniques of psychology, sociology, and similar disciplines to their work. His

campaigns were built on research and he brought social sciences into the board room. Then,

through his many publications, went on to teach generations how to sway public opinion.

Significant Career

The Guardian in their obituary for Bernays, noted that during his career he had provided

public relations counsel to: "[President Dwight] Eisenhower, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford,

Enrico Caruso ("He called him Bernaysie"), Jan Masaryk, Nijinsky, Samuel Goldwyn and

Eleanor Roosevelt." They also reported that he "is said to have turned down Hitler and Franco,

and to have had some 350 clients during his career, from government departments to labour

[labor] unions, educational institutions to large corporations." (Smith, 2001, March 16). The

results of his work impacted breakfast food, smoking, race relations, politics, and war.

Bernays promoted his clients using - what he termed - "the science of ballyhoo." Which

combined modern public relations techniques and traditional press agentry. It included "pseudo-

event(s);" [events staged for the media], testimony of "third party authorities" and the "tie-in(s)."

Believing that people are more willing to accept the opinion of independent authorities, Bernays

THE CAREER AND TIMES OF EDWARD L. BERNAYS

5

often put experts out front to support his cause. Also employing the tie-in, where he would use

one venue to promote another product. Adam Curtis, in the Century of Self (2002) illustrates:

When Bernays was employed by William Randolph Hurst to promote his new

women's magazines, and Bernays glamorized them by placing articles and

advertisements that linked products made by others of his clients to famous film

stars like Clara Bow, who was also his client. Bernays also began the practice of

product placement in movies and he dressed the stars at the films premieres with

clothes and jewelry from other firms he represented.

Before Bernays counseled Beech-Nut Packing Company, bacon was traditionally served

at lunch or at the evening meal. In a campaign to boost bacon sales for this firm, Bernays first

commissioned a study of American's eating habits. Then using the third party authority

technique, he found a doctor who advised that a bigger breakfast was better than the traditional

one of just toast and coffee. Since, according to this physician, during the night the body lost

energy which needs to be replaced.

Bernays then forwarded that physician's recommendation to over 5,000 physicians (along

with a publicity packet for Beech-Net bacon). Doctors started recommending bacon and eggs for

breakfast. Then their patients would pass this recommendation on to others via word of mouth.

As bacon and eggs became the American breakfast, sales for bacon soared.

In a campaign to increase cigarette sales to women for American Tobacco Company,

Bernays' designed a campaign to overcome the then public taboo of women smoking in public.

Bernays' commissioned a study by psychoanalyst A. A. Brill to find out how women felt about

smoking. Brill concluded, for women cigarettes were a phallic symbol and smoking represented

a challenge to men's power. Challenging men's power then became the cornerstone of the public

relations campaign and "Torches of Freedom Parade" was organized.

THE CAREER AND TIMES OF EDWARD L. BERNAYS

6

The "Torches of Freedom Parade" took place during the traditional Easter Parade on Fifth

Avenue in New York City in 1929. Bernays using a list of debutants - complied by the editor of

Vogue magazine - recruited them suggesting that lighting up cigarettes and smoking would

contribute to the crusade for women's rights. According to Allan Brand (2007), Bernays' was

careful when picking women to march because "while they should be good looking, they should

not look too model-y". The pseudo-event was a great public relations success and was covered

widely and helped increase the sales of cigarettes to women.

In 1920, civil rights lawyer and founder of the National Association for the Advancement

of Colored People (NAACP) - Arthur Barnette Spingarn - engaged Bernays to handle the

publicity for the organization's Convention in Atlanta. The publicity effort highlighted the

contribution of blacks to Southern society and that the civil rights movement was underway. The

Conference was held without incident and its proceeding received coverage in leading

newspapers. "For the first time in the history of the country," Bernays said, "under the dateline of

the South's industrial metropolis, news was published throughout the country alerting the people

of the United States that whites and Negroes alike were seeking new status for the Negro." (The

Museum of Public Relations, 2014)

Bernays managed one of the first overt media acts for a president. In advance of the 1924

election, he was hired to improve Calvin Coolidge's public image. To display Coolidge's "warm,

sympathetic personality," Bernays organized a breakfast with Al Jolson and 40 other Broadway

performers at the White House. According to Museum of Public Relations this celebrity star

power worked and newspaper headlines reported, "Actor Eats Cake with the

THE CAREER AND TIMES OF EDWARD L. BERNAYS

7

Coolidges...President Nearly Laughs...Guests Crack Dignified Jokes, Sing Songs and Pledge To

Support Coolidge." (The Museum of Public Relations, 2014).

Bernays later work for United Fruit Company and the U.S. Government resulted in the

overthrow of the democratically elected president of Guatemala. Branding President Jacobo

Arbenz Guzman as a Communist lead directly to the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état supported by

the U.S. Government, so United Fruit Company could maintain control of the country as a

"Banana Republic" exploiting workers to export cheap product for the market.

Evolution of the Public Relations Field in the early 20th Century American

From the mid-1800s onwards, U.S. business grew rapidly and a consolidation of wealth

and power resulted. However, businesses was accused of abusing this power and the public, at

the turn of the 1900s, became distrustful of corporations. In-turn the public started to favor new

laws and regulations to halt the abuse. American corporations realized that to head off

government regulations they needed to better control their public image and build positive

relationships with the press.

Many historians of the public relations field see this as a move from an era of publicity to

one of information. A move from one way communication to two way communication. George

V. S. Michaelis, in 1900, established the Publicity Bureau in Boston. The agency used fact-

finding publicity and personal contact to push their clients' position, but kept its connection to

them a secret. The first corporate press relations office was established by Westinghouse Electric

Company in 1889.

Arthur W. Page, Vice President for Public Relations of American Telephone and

Telegraph Company (AT&T) considered the father of American corporate public relations for his

THE CAREER AND TIMES OF EDWARD L. BERNAYS

8

work at that firm between 1927 and 1946. He promoted the idea the all in employees shared in

the public relations responsibility, not just the assigned staff. He also believed that the public

relations staff had to be the company's conscience. (http://www.prmuseum.com, 2006). He

identified seven essential principles that all public relations professionals should follow: Tell the

truth, Prove it with action, Listen to the customer, Conduct public relations as if the whole

company depends on it, Realize a company's true character is expressed by its people, and

Remain calm, patient and good-humored. (The Page Principles, 2014)

Ivy Lee is considered public relations first professional practitioner, during the early 20th

Century. Lee moved from journalism to handling press relations for Standard Oil and railroad

companies. Following a period "of the public be dammed," Lee created the modern press release,

prescribed a public relations "Statements of Principles," and helped to usher in a new two way

communication approach. Lee is credited with making US businessmen more communicative

about their affairs.

Lee became publicity counsel to John D. Rockefeller. He handled public relations after

14 striking miners were shot dead by the National Guard, at a mine owned by Rockefeller in

Ludlow, Colorado. Commonly referred to as the "Ludlow Massacre," a national scandal, it was a

historic confrontations between capital and labor. Lee spun-Rockerfeller's story, that the miners

were responsible for the violence. Through the course of his career, Lee created the "Breakfast of

Champions" slogan for Wheaties and the symbol of Betty Crocker.

During World War I, Lee, Bernays, and Walter Lippmann (noted American journalist and

author) were employed by the US propaganda agency, the Committee on Public Information

(CPI) [also referred to as the Creel Commission]. It was the first large scale propaganda

THE CAREER AND TIMES OF EDWARD L. BERNAYS

9

campaign. Promoting America's role in the war and working to reduce German morale. President

Woodrow Wilson commissioned it at the start of war and it was the President's alternative to

press censorship, a concept being advanced by the U.S. military. According to Bruce Pinkleton

(1994), "the CPI demonstrated the ability of propaganda and publicity to shape public opinion."

(p. 239)

Propaganda

Bernays sees propaganda central to a democratic society. In 1936, he said: "Propaganda is

an important tool of social evolution and change. Propaganda makes it possible for minority

ideas to become effective more quickly." (Bernays, 1928) Even if some aspects of the

propaganda model may be criticized such as "the manipulation of the news," because of its

potential for misuse, propaganda however, still remains an essential part of our everyday lives

(Bernays, 1928, p. 39).

Bernays, as did Freud and Lippmann, understood that man is not a rational being and is

subject to herd mentality. Bernays says that our mind is the greatest barrier between us and the

facts, because we tend to see events through the prism of group reaction. Fearing, not being

included in the group, makes us sensitive to its power. Lippmann, in Public Opinion (1922), felt

that a limitation of democracy was the ill-informed public that was subject to irrational impulses.

Likewise for Lippmann, public opinion is collectively made up by what the masses "pictures of

themselves, of others, of their needs, purposes, and relationship" (p. 18). As an alternative,

Lippmann proposed a "committees of wise men,; who would use propaganda and lobbying

needed to manage each aspect of daily life,

THE CAREER AND TIMES OF EDWARD L. BERNAYS

10

In Crystallizing Public Opinion (1923), Bernays acknowledged Walter Lippmann's

influence on his work. Both believing that since man was conformist and malleable mankind

needed assistance to guide his decision making. Lippmann called on the leading societal

institutions to help educate both journalists and the public. Bernays' own candidate for the task,

"unsurprisingly, was the public relations counselor who was trained, after all, to understand the

public mind." (Galber, 1995, December 31).

In the Engineering of Consent (1947) Bernays says an important element in democratic

society is the conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the

masses. The manipulators, being the invisible government, which is the true ruling power of our

society. Bernays points out Propaganda (1928), that while in theory every citizen makes up his

or her own mind on both public and private matters, in practice however the data collection and

research needed would be in the end inconclusive (Bernays, 1928). For that reason we the

citizens have appointed "an ethical teacher, minister, our favorite essayist or a prevailing public

opinion" to direct our attention to the appropriate matters (Bernays, 1928, p. 38). Bernays argues

that although every citizen "buys the best and cheapest commodities offered him on the market"

it would be impossible to do so if each citizen had to rely on his or her own product research

(Bernays, 1928, p. 39).

In regards to "the new propaganda" Bernays speaks of the rise of power for the common

people, how political power transcends from economic power and how the technologies from the

industrial Revolution especially the idea of universal or public schooling took power away from

the bourgeoisie (Bernays, 1928, p. 48). However, for all the power gained by the common people

an elite few realized how to captivate it, so as to use it as they see fit through what Bernays refers

THE CAREER AND TIMES OF EDWARD L. BERNAYS

11

to as " the executive arm of the invisible government", also known as propaganda (Bernays,

1928, p. 48).

He points however; that propaganda is in itself neither either positive or negative, good

nor evil, rather it is simply a tool that can be used for either intention. The initial implications of

"universal literacy" were surely positive. With the ability to read every man would have an equal

opportunity for not only a better wellbeing, but the opportunity to rule as well. Conversely,

instead of giving the common man his voice, universal literacy allowed for the digestion of and

regurgitation of social, economic, political and religious doctrines and viewpoints. These things

are not to be confused with the term propaganda, at least not how it was originally intended.

Methods of selling products, according to Johnny Boss, stem from the psychoanalytical

idea of tapping into the unconscious and appealing to repressed desires, sublimating them

through buying power and promises of personal fulfilment, empowerment, pleasure and strength

through expenditure. Our identities are defined by what we buy and consumer trends are directly

tied to the herd man's herd instincts. We find our identities in what we buy and express our self

through the commodities we own. (Boss, 2011)

According to Bernays, the "molders of public opinion" include not the men who run our

country or financial, religious and educational institutions but those men who run in hidden

circles advising them. These molders of public opinion also constitute the invisible government

influencing the minutest details of our lives (Bernays, 1928). This is similar to Lippmann's

(1922), view of propagandist as a "group of men who can prevent independent access to the

event, arrange the news of it to suit their purpose" (p. 42).

THE CAREER AND TIMES OF EDWARD L. BERNAYS

12

Bernays however, clarifies that the public relations counsel is not an "ad man' but he will

counsel the advertising agency also employed by his client to assist them in pushing their

(mutual) client's agenda. However, his concerns lie in (Bernays, 1928, p. 65) whether he can

convince the public to buy into his clients' ideal.

Consumer Capitalism

World War I's demand for goods further expanded America's industrial capacity. The

country emerged from the war both rich and powerful. However - as the war ended - business

was concerned about the dangers of overproduction and that supply might pass demand. In this

period, Sharon Beder (2004) notes that production increased by 12 to 14 times in the US, while

the population only increased three times. Expanding consumption was necessary to ensure that

demand would keep-up with supply.

Consumer goods of all kinds became available after the war. Competitive mass

advertising "which stressed product imagery and product personality" replaced the advertising of

just product information, according to W.E Biernatzki (2001). The successful techniques of

American War propaganda were now converted for peacetime selling. Value of products was

determined by desire and less by need. The new Consumer capitalism "functioned on the basic

economic paradigm of supply and demand, but without regard to a product's intrinsic value."

(Boss, 2011)

In the early 20's, financed by New York Investment Banks, chain department stores were

developed across America as outlets for mass produced goods. A new type of customer was

being sought and by 1929 advertising expenditures increased by five times from 1914. Bernays

THE CAREER AND TIMES OF EDWARD L. BERNAYS

13

and others began to create many of the techniques of mass consumer persuasion that we now live

with

Between 1920 and 1929, according to Stanley Buder, (2009) "production nearly doubled

as demand rose to meet output." (p. 235) Advertising, marketing, and public relations developed

as industries and the "invisible government" who used psychology to manipulate the selling of

commodities. While the standard economic model has the consumer choosing from the available

product, "however, firms often decided which goods were most profitable to produce and then

employed marketing to convince consumers to buy them." Products defined lifestyles and

essentially, advertising guided consumers as to "taste, social correctness, and psychological

satisfaction.' (Buder, p. 235)

Consumer capitalism mastered the manipulation of the psyche and the practices of

advertising, marketing, and public relations turned into an industry by themselves. Since he

believed that manipulation by the invisible government was central to a democratic society,

Bernays saw all these developments in a positive light. The advertising and marketing industries

developed tried and tested techniques of selling commodities. (Boss, 2011)

In Manipulating Public Opinion (1928), Bernays wrote: "This is an age of mass

production. In the mass production of materials a broad technique has been developed and

applied to their distribution. In this age, too, there must be a technique for the mass distribution

of ideas." In This Business of Propaganda (1928), he argued that a public relations counsel "must

never accept a retainer or assume a position which puts his duty to the groups he represents

above his duty to society." In practice, of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control

the public mind.

THE CAREER AND TIMES OF EDWARD L. BERNAYS

14

Public policy supported the creation of this post-World War I consumerism.

Consumerism became "a new vehicle for delivering the traditional American promises of

democracy and egalitarianism" (Cohen, 1998, p. 111). In American there was fundamental

economic shift during the 1920s. As families spent a declining proportion of their income on

necessities they increased their spending on new consumer products..

The concept "consumer culture" refers to the dominant mode of consumption that is

structured by the collective actions of firms in their marketing activities. To work properly,

capitalism requires a symbiotic relationship between market prerogatives and the cultural

frameworks that orient how people understand and interact with the market's offerings. The

cultural structuring of consumption maintains political support for the market system, expands

markets, and increases industry profits

Controversy

"Much of Bernays' reputation today stems from his persistent public relations campaign

to build his own reputation as "America's No. 1 Publicist." During his active years, many of his

peers in the industry were offended by Bernays' continuous self-promotion. According to Cutlip,

"Bernays was a brilliant person who had a spectacular career, but, to use an old-fashioned word,

he was a braggart."

Bernays' detractors called him a glorified press agent at best, a young Machiavelli at

worst. He preferred the more majestic appellation "public relations counselor," but the title was

at once too august for the kinds of chicanery Bernays practiced and too modest for its impact. As

the father of modern public relations, he not only taught generations of persuaders how to sway

public opinion, whether in the service of selling a product or electing a candidate, but he was, in

THE CAREER AND TIMES OF EDWARD L. BERNAYS

15

the cultural historian Ann Douglas's words, the man "who orchestrated the commercialization of

a culture."

Since Bernays fancied himself not just the pioneer but the conscience of his profession,

the section on American Tobacco is especially damaging to his reputation. As Tye documents, by

the early 1930's Bernays was privy to studies linking smoking and cancer. These early warnings

about tobacco's effect on health led him to tout smoking as soothing to the throat and good for a

trim waistline. As he hypocritically seduced American women into smoking, he was trying to

wean his own wife from the nasty habit. His daughter Anne Bernays, the novelist, recalls that

whenever he discovered a pack of his wife's Parliaments, ''he'd pull them all out and just snap

them like bones, just snap them in half and throw them in the toilet. He hated her smoking.'' One

merit of Tye's book is the tough, unsparing way it debunks Bernays's pretensions to superior

morality.

According to Bernays, it was Hill's idea to tout cigarettes as a low-calorie alternative to

sweets. Bernays orchestrated a campaign that equated cigarettes with slenderness, grace, and

beauty. He enlisted third-party "experts" to warn against the adverse effects of desserts, in terms

of both weight gain and tooth decay, and to declare that cigarettes were a great alternative and

could do everything from clean your teeth to make you a better dancer. Bernays's staff even

distributed menus that substituted cigarettes for desserts. Despite some backlash against Bernays

and American Tobacco, Hill wrote to Bernays in December 1928 that the company's revenue was

up by thirty-two million dollars that year and that sales of Lucky Strikes had increased more than

those of all other brands combined.

THE CAREER AND TIMES OF EDWARD L. BERNAYS

16

Even so, Hill was still dissatisfied with the number of women smokers in 1929. His

insistence that Bernays come up with a way to get women to smoke outdoors as well as indoors

led to the PR man's most notorious staged event. Bernays obtained a list of New York City

debutantes and invited each one to join other women demonstrating their support for the equality

of the sexes by walking together in the city's Easter Parade on Fifth Avenue in 1929. Additional

women were recruited through ads signed by prominent local advocates of women's rights. All

the information stressed that as the women walked, they would light symbols of equality, their

"torches of freedom"—cigarettes.

The carefully scripted event went without a hitch, despite fewer than a dozen women

showing up. Photos of them—defiant, stylishly dressed female smokers making their way

through the parade—were published across the country, and several "torches of freedom"

marches followed in support. Women, in other words, took the bait and proclaimed their

determination to squelch the old taboo against smoking as the start of a movement to establish

their equality with men.

Recounting the event in The Father of Spin, author Larry Tye explains that Bernays

almost always failed to point out that the campaign was funded by American Tobacco and that

letters used to recruit participants never mentioned the source of the idea or the funding behind

it. Ironically, Bernays, who lived to be 103, supposedly never smoked and once admitted that he

did not like the taste of tobacco. "I prefer chocolate," he said.

Bernays, better than anyone, demonstrated the successful adaptation of wartime PR and

propaganda techniques for use in postwar and depression-era America, but these increasingly

brazen efforts did not go unnoticed or unopposed. Between 1937 and 1942, the Institute for

THE CAREER AND TIMES OF EDWARD L. BERNAYS

17

Propaganda Analysis worked to expose domestic propaganda that the group considered a

potential threat to American democracy. Although the name itself sounds like propaganda, the

IPA was a legitimate organization, created "to teach people how to think rather than what to

think." Made up mostly of social scientists and journalists, it published newsletters that

"examined and exposed manipulative practices by advertisers, businesses, governments, and

other organizations" and sponsored related programs within high schools, colleges, and civic

groups. It had no political affiliation.

In his autobiography, titled Biography of an Idea, Bernays recalls a dinner at his home in

1933 where "Karl von Weigand, foreign correspondent of the Hearst newspapers, an old hand at

interpreting Europe and just returned from Germany, was telling us about Goebbels and his

propaganda plans to consolidate Nazi power. Goebbels had shown Weigand his propaganda

library, the best Weigand had ever seen. Goebbels, said Weigand, was using my book

Crystallizing Public Opinion as a basis for his destructive campaign against the Jews of

Germany. This shocked me. … Obviously the attack on the Jews convinced him that show-

business techniques could be applied to corporate clients. As he later wrote, "I could create

events and circumstances from which favorable publicity would stem."

Bernays defended his activities not only as honorable but as essential to the democratic

process. He was, he said, simply sending ideas into the marketplace, where the public could

accept or reject them. But for all his professions of faith in democracy, he actually harbored deep

suspicions of the public he courted.

Use of mass psychology—whether for public or commercial purposes—also drew

criticism at a time when, especially in Europe, totalitarian propaganda had become rampant.

THE CAREER AND TIMES OF EDWARD L. BERNAYS

18

Bernays was aware that his theories were read by Goebbels, and later acknowledged that he

knew it was possible to misuse his methodology. However, he defended his methods as crucial

for helping minorities make their views heard and, in doing so, guiding the majority's formation

of widely-held opinions for the greater good of a democratic society.

In his political and commercial PR work, Bernays used the social sciences to understand

and motivate consumer behavior. To that end, he famously employed psychoanalysis. One

example was his well-known campaign for American Tobacco. To increase sales, the campaign

encouraged women to smoke publicly alongside men—something that was frowned upon (or

even illegal) in many states at the time. Bernays turned to Austrian-American psychoanalyst

Abraham Brill for advice on what could motivate women to smoke. Brill thought that women

wanted to smoke, but were held back by the widely-held belief that cigarettes "titillate[d] the

erogenous zones of the lips" (Interview with Edward Bernays)—a taboo that Brill suggested

could be overcome if smoking was linked to women's emancipation and gender equality. Eagerly

making use of this suggestion, Bernays enlisted a group of female debutantes to smoke in the

1929 Easter Parade, calling cigarettes "torches of freedom" and ensuring that the gathering

received prominent press coverage. Bernays later stressed that he was unaware of the health-

damaging effects of cigarettes at the time, and even campaigned against them in the 1960s.

Legacy

Though claims that Bernays was the "founding father" of public relations may go too far,

he was nevertheless one of the first to employ its techniques for businesses instead of

governments. Furthermore, as a lecturer at New York University in 1923, he became the first

instructor of PR. His oeuvre includes fifteen books and more than three hundred articles, some of

THE CAREER AND TIMES OF EDWARD L. BERNAYS

19

which are still considered foundational works for the study of public relations. Bernays gained

further recognition through his involvement with the 1929 campaign "Light's Golden Jubilee,"

which urged Americans to switch on their lights at the exact same moment to celebrate fifty

years of Edison's lightbulb. The nation-wide campaign for the General Electric Company and

Henry Ford attracted the participation of many celebrities and was widely broadcasted.

While the public was often unaware that Bernays stood behind many of the events he

orchestrated, the campaigns in which he was involved made his ideas and the interests of his

clients well-known to a broad audience. Moreover, the psychological ideas that influenced his

strategies and were expressed in his writings traveled back to Europe, having been turned into

marketing instruments.

Still, his legacy remains contested. In the early years of his career, Bernays stressed that a

public relations counsel should work towards liberating the consumer from "her" choices and

saw it necessary to inform the consumer of better ones. However, later in his writings this notion

does not appear anymore. All in all, he defended his work and viewpoints on the "engineering of

consent" by claiming that public relations would provide journalists, customers, and citizens with

"truthful, accurate and verifiable news" to help them make better decisions (Bernays 1923, p.

182). He claimed it was the only way for minority opinions to be heard. Yet due to the nature of

his ideas as well as the goods and ideas for which he developed campaigns, Edward L. Bernays'

influence on the field of PR remains subject to heated debate. While some think of him as a

pioneering genius in his field, he has often been criticized and accused of being an elitist willing

to abuse the powers of mass persuasion. Despite having published his memoirs in 1965, Bernays

lived to the age of 103—and reportedly worked until he was 100—before dying in 1995.

THE CAREER AND TIMES OF EDWARD L. BERNAYS

20

References

(1990, September 1). LIFE LISTS 20TH CENTURY'S MOST INFLUENTIAL AMERICANS.

Deseret News . Retrieved from http://www.deseretnews.com/article/119956/LIFE-LISTS-

20TH-CENTURYS-MOST-INFLUENTIAL-AMERICANS.html?pg=all

(1995, March 10). Edward Bernays, \'Father of Public Relations\' And Leader in Opinion

Making, Dies at 103. New York Times.

Arthur W. Page - The Museum of Public Relations. (n.d.). The Museum of Public Relations.

Retrieved June 8, 2014, from http://www.prmuseum.com/awpage/awpage_1.html

Beder, S. (2004, January 1). Consumerism and work - a history. Consumerism and work - a

history. Retrieved June 10, 2014, from

http://www.uow.edu.au/~sharonb/consumerism.html

Bernays, E. L. (1936, July 16). Freedom of Propaganda, The Constructive Forming of Public

Opinion. Lecture conducted from University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA.

Bernays, E. L. The Engineering of Consent. The Annals of the American Academy of Political

and Social Science, 250 , 283-283. Retrieved June 12, 2014, from the UCLA.edu

database.

Biernatzki, W. (2001, March 1). Communication Research Trends. gale. Retrieved June 16,

2014, from https://api.turnitin.com/viewGale.asp?

oid=26948227&key=bd930046f13c4d9c85e1030c61ce2b16&lang=en_us&output=json&

session-id=5dd14a663d18dd259dbc98722401bd10

THE CAREER AND TIMES OF EDWARD L. BERNAYS

21

Boss, J. (2011, October 4). Psychoanalysis, Freud, Civilization and Capitalism. Psychoanalysis,

Freud, Civilization and Capitalism. Retrieved June 15, 2014, from

http://libcom.org/library/psychoanalysis-freud-civilization-capitalism?&session-

id=f5983b8dbc85d867e70d28cd5f88ffff

Brandt, Allan M. (2007). The Cigarette Century. New York: Basic Books, pp. 84-85.

Curtis, A. (Director). (2002). The Century of the Self United Kingdom : BBC.

Gabler, N. (1995, December 31). The Lives They Lived: Edward L Bernays and Henry C.

Rogers;The Fathers of P.R.. . Retrieved June 12, 2014, from

http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/08/16/specials/bernays-father.html?&session-

id=46f27647a59313076be167af2aa424c5

Justman, S. (1994). Freud and His Nephew. Social Research, 61(2), 457-476.

The Museum of Public Relations. (2014, January 1). The Museum of Public Relations. Retrieved

June 2, 2014, from http://www.prmuseum.com/bernays/bernays_1920.html

Pinkleton, B. The Campaign of the Committee on Public Information: Its Contributions to the

History and Evolution of Public Relations. JOURNAL OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

RESEARCH, 6, 229-240.

Rise of the image men. (2010, December 18). The Economist. Retrieved May 30, 2014, from

http://www.economist.com/node/17722733

Smith, H. (2001, March 16). The original persuader. theguardian.com. Retrieved June 1, 2014,

from http://www.theguardian.com/media/2001/mar/16/marketingandpr1

The Page Principles | Arthur W. Page Society. (2014, January 1). Arthur W Page Society.

Retrieved June 8, 2014, from http://www.awpagesociety.com/about/the-page-principles/

THE CAREER AND TIMES OF EDWARD L. BERNAYS

22

Topics: Public Relations Press Release Media Propaganda Bernays.... (n.d.). Public Relations

Press Release Media Propaganda Bernays. Retrieved May 30, 2014, from

http://www.economicexpert.com/a/Public:relations.html

India - a land of vast cultural & linguistic diversity, where 'word of mouth' plays a crucial role in building brands. Public Relations have strongly emerged as an indispensable function for protecting and enhancing reputation. With 70% population of the nation living within the rural or semi-urban geographies, and nearly 34% of the same, annually migrating to urban cities in search of a better livelihood and employment, the role of regional Public Relations becomes more intrinsic to "Integrated Communications and Marketing strategies" for brands. The research paper attempts to understand the following: a) Evolution of consumer consumption and engagement through the lens of regional Public Relations in India. b) Introduction of the concept of G-LO-RI: Global – Local-Regional. c) Challenges faced by professionals/ agencies. The research aims to emphasize the need and importance of regional Public Relations. With the help of in-depth interviews and secondary data, the research will deduce the opportunities and scope to grow in this unorganized and untapped regional territories pan India. The research paper has considered variables - demographic factors, purchasing power, access and dissemination of information and news, effects of social channels and influencers, regional content consumption patterns, and urbanization. The qualitative study of these factors aims to share an outlook and future of regional Public Relations in India. As per existing information available at the time of drafting this research paper, there was no such material or reporting evidence in the context of the role and relevance of regional Public Relations in India. This research paper aims to highlight the current ecosystem, gaps, and key findings and showcase the importance, growth, and challenges of regional Public Relations in India. Interpretations/Implications: This study found that the Regional Public Relations industry has grown multi-folds in the past two decades. There have been many contributing factors instrumental towards this growth size, scale, and reach. This study included a mix of national public relations agency professionals and regional Public Relations agency owners/founders. They shared their journey and explained the concept, growth and evolution, agency revenue model, team size, opportunities, and challenges on the whole. The level of growth is varied region-wise, while Western, Northern, and Southern regions are hot spots of growth of regional Public Relations business, Eastern and North-East region remain a potential growth market. It was also observed that the affiliate model or the associate model of business is prevalent in the industry. The upcoming trends and practices were also discussed with the participants. The agencies have relied heavily on traditional media for a long time, but there is a gradual shift towards creating more digital content, which is data-driven. In due course of the study, it was evident that industry spending differed from one region to another. FMCG, followed by Automobile and Telecom, were the front runners in spends on regional Public Relations, Government and Education sectors have also caught up. The variation is observed due to the general demand and supply rule and socio-cultural factors, including language, customs, lifestyles & values, playing a crucial role. The researcher also came across some looming challenges that the industry currently faces, and recommendations have also been shared at the end of this paper.

ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.