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The manipulation of the American mind: Edward Bernays and the birth of public relations

theconversation.com · 1,188 words · saved by 1 readers

“The most interesting man in the world.” “Reach out and touch someone.” “Finger-lickin’ good.” Such advertising slogans have become fixtures of American culture, and each year millions now tune into the Super Bowl as much for the ads as for the football. While no single person can claim exclusive credit for the ascendancy of advertising in American life, no one deserves credit more than a man most of us have never heard of: Edward Bernays. I first encountered Bernays through an article I was writing on propaganda, and it quickly became clear that he was one of the 20th century’s foremost salesmen of ideas. The fact that 20 years have elapsed since his death provides a fitting opportunity to reexamine his legacy. Often referred to as “the father of public relations,” Bernays in 1928 published his seminal work, Propaganda, in which he argued that public relations is not a gimmick but a necessity: The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masse

Subscribe Body and Soul A doctor’s view Richard Gunderman , Indiana University Indianapolis Author Richard Gunderman Chancellor's Professor of Medicine, Liberal Arts, and Philanthropy, Indiana University Indianapolis Partners Indiana University provides funding as a member of The Conversation US. View all partners DOI https://doi.org/10.64628/AAI.9rukv3uxm Edward Bernays applied the principles of propaganda to marketing. Bruce Henschel/Flickr , CC BY-NC-ND https://theconversation.com/the-manipulation-of-the-american-mind-edward-bernays-and-the-birth-of-public-relations-44393 https://theconvers

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