The world took a tremendous turn in the late 1940s, but the marketing trick behind instant cake mix is not what most people consider essential. Neville Chamberlain’s failing appeasement, the subsequent annexation of Austria, Hitler’s rise, and the 1929 stock market crash made a witty marketing scheme far from the first thing in anyone’s mind. When Betty Crocker struggled to sell cake mix, the company brought Ernest Dichter to solve the problem. He said the cake mix was almost too instant, and women would feel guilty taking credit for something they didn’t make. Dichter made a simple, seemingly counterintuitive suggestion: to let consumers crack an egg. This extra step prevented any sense of guilt and presented an easy way for a caretaker to show off an instant cake. This seemingly small contribution marked a significant success in public relations, but the story starts much earlier. Edward Bernays, known as the father of public relations, was the pioneer of this power, and his influence would go on to change the world forever.
The impact of public relations on the social life of Americans and people worldwide has been overlooked, and it is essential to recognize Edward Bernays’ influence. Before him, marketing often presented products at base value: a product as cheap, a product as durable, or a product as luxurious. However, the idea that the human psyche could be used to make sales or, in some cases, control the masses forever changed history. To understand how Bernays left such an impact, it’s essential to recognize where his legacy all started. Edward Bernays implemented Freudian psychology in government and industry, transforming it forever. He used emotional appeal, symbolism, and subconscious messaging tactics that could sway people’s opinions without anyone even realizing it, secretly influencing consumer behavior.
In 1928, Bernays published his book Propaganda, factually and unapologetically spreading his methods of manipulating mass opinion. Unlike many of his time, Bernays did not view propaganda as taboo and argued its inevitability and necessity for social order. The book became a staple for business owners, politicians, and media officials to learn the skills behind molding public thought and behavior.
Before Bernays, advertising was straightforward, simply highlighting the product’s qualities. He, however, used the subconscious to get an expected result from citizens, boosting sales through psychological control over an unaware populace. His influence exceeded commercial business and gave him great social and political power.
A perfect example of Bernays’ influence in geopolitics was his scarily impressive work with the United Fruit Company. While revolutionizing commercial advertising, he utilized the power of perception for geopolitical gain. In the late 1950s, Bernays was hired to protect the company’s interests when land reforms threatened their claims and subsequent profit from large-scale farms. Through a well-planned media campaign portraying the Guatemalan government as communist, Bernays convinced the American population–and, more importantly, the American government–of a possible threat and laid the groundwork for the eventual coup. His efforts marked a significant success in Public Relations but also created fear of what was becoming inevitable: the threat of mass manipulation.
Bernays changed much about what American society considers essential, healthy, and necessary, such as breakfast. At the time, breakfast was not a part of American culture. With laziness and lavish ignorance, most Americans were stuck with coffee and little else. But Edward Bernays transformed this forgotten meal into a staple of Americanism as “the most important meal of the day.” Commissioned by the pork industry, Bernays selected officials to report that a hearty breakfast, bacon, and eggs, was a necessity for any working man. This strategy of using health officials to promote a product is now a cornerstone of modern advertising but did not exist before Bernays. In the 21st century, these techniques are seen everywhere; health claims, celebrity endorsement, and products linked with an identity are the cornerstones of modern marketing.
However, Bernays’ most notable success was connecting companies, products, and policies with identities, a role model, and an ideal future. Arguably, the backbone of Bernays’ achievements was in his creation of what he named “the engineering constant,” a method of secretly convincing the public of a correlation between an object and an identity. He linked clients and their ideas with an emotional resonance. For instance, by getting women to smoke by connecting it with equal opportunity and feminine power, Bernays was able to sell more cigarettes. In 1929, Bernays exemplified the power of his method with a campaign to encourage women to smoke. At the time, women smoking was frowned upon, but aiming to double the intended audience, Bernays orchestrated an event where women publicly smoked cigarettes during an Easter parade. The genius behind it was branding cigarettes as the “torches of freedom,” transforming smoking into a symbol of women’s empowerment. By associating smoking with independence and strength, he effectively manipulated public perception and behavior, shifting social norms overnight.
This ability to control the masses went from selling more bacon to electing presidents.
Bernays crafted a world where perception was reality, and any way to control that perception meant controlling the people themselves. Public relations became a powerful tool for control of business and government.
Edward Bernays’ success became legendary as he went on to advise U.S. presidents and foreign leaders, demonstrating the political weight of his methods.
Nonetheless, Bernays’ legacy is not without controversy. His famed techniques to motivate consumers were also used to incite political action. During World War II, Bernays’ tactics were used in propaganda to keep citizens involved and enlisting to fight a war far from home. This era demonstrated the devastating power mass psychology can have over American society. Bernays was aware of these implications and advocated for public awareness of this topic but struggled to have a significant scale effect.
Today, Bernays’ impact is visible almost everywhere. Corporate marketing and financing, appealing to the human psyche, and an emotional appeal are now the cornerstone of manipulation in today’s economy. In modern society, public relations exceeds marketing and is prevalent in social and political interactions at every level. The combination of marketing, politics, and all other forms of human interaction with an understanding of manipulative psychology exists because of Bernays’ accomplishments.
Yet, the public doesn’t fully recognize Bernays. His impact, the effect of public relations in general, is more effective if left in secrecy, but that doesn’t mean it should be. Recognizing his impact is key to understanding the driving force behind consumerism and the methods of mass manipulation still used today. In a technological era with instant communication and an unavoidable blitz of information, it’s more important than ever to be aware of manipulative tactics.
Edward Bernays transformed the link between human emotion and desire with consumerism and control. He made human psychology the main factor behind desire by looking past direct incentives. Acknowledgment is the first step in raising the curtains to show the physiological impact and techniques used around and on you. Acknowledging Bernays’ legacy isn’t just to give credit to his brilliance, but also for your safety. In a world where perception is reality, don’t let your reality be controlled, as awareness is the first step in fighting against manipulation.
Edward Bernays, known as the father of public relations, was the pioneer of this power, and his influence would go on to change the world forever.