Meeting Jason... and knowing Edward Bernays

Deep blue eyes... excitement in his grin...smile so innocent... and a V-shaped body for a 35+ man... It was inspiring to meet Jason.. Thanks to NTK again. Well, Jason introduced me to the Great Edward Bernays (The Father of PR). I have through the night read about him and am in complete awe of him. To begin with, he was the nephew of Dear Uncle Freud!

Edward Bernays was one of the first people to expand what had been a narrow concept of press agentry seeking to influence and change public opinion and behavior. He helped shape public relations by favoring the use of endorsements from opinion leaders, celebrities, doctors and other "experts" to strengthen his clients arguments. In addition, he favored surveys, releasing the results of experiments and polls to make a better case for his clients' positions and products.

Culture saw a big change when Edward Bernays pulled off a major public relations coup called the "Torches of Freedom" march, promoting women's right to smoke in public. About a dozen society women dressed as suffragettes marched in the 5th Avenue Easter Parade, smoking openly while it was still illegal in New York and other cities.

I have always believed that Public Relations potentially holds immense Power. And I seek backing in Edward Bernays' book Propoganda which opens up with the following lines: "THE conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society." It is not surprising to note that he is refered to be the one 'who orchestrated the commercialization of a culture' by his critics.

In the year 1920, Edward Bernays first used application of psychoanalytical techniques on the masses for advertising and asked a simple question, “If we understand the mechanism and motives of the group-mind, is it not possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without their knowing about it?”

We are not at all aware but in the 1950s, some of Edward Bernays' ideas and vision helped in creating our country as a Democratic Republic by having the Indian National Congress of India adapt a Bill of Rights. Freedom of the Press, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Assembly, and Freedom of Petition were added to the Constitution of India.

Bernays defined the profession of "counsel on public relations" as a "practicing social scientist". However his Propoganda did not make him win many friends; he was called a professional poisoner by his envious enemies. Along with this, the 2002 BBC documentary The Century of the Self describes him as "undemocratic", which if given a thought to seems inclined towards rationality.

Notwithstanding these, the point which I drive home is what Edward Bernays said in an interview when he turned 100, "if this (PR) could be used for war, it can be used for peace."