| America! Meet Your Puppet Master Posted: 09 Nov 2012 05:00 AM PST How Eddie Bernays got you to buy books, wear hairnets, and eat bacon for breakfast. 
One could argue that the birth of modern public relations is really the story of bacon and eggs. Prior to the 1920s, breakfast was toast and a cup of coffee. When a company called Beech-Nut Packing wanted to boost its bacon sales, they called PR man Edwards Bernays.
Bernays didn't place ads in magazines or post billboards with catchy slogans. Instead, he commissioned a research study on the eating habits of Americans. A doctor concluded that, because the body loses energy during the night, a robust breakfast is healthier than a light one. Bernays saw to it that thousands of physicians got the report, along with a publicity packet touting bacon and eggs as a hearty way to start the day. Pretty soon, doctors were recommending it to their patients, and the all-American breakfast was born.
Syphilis and Propaganda
Edwards Bernays was born in Vienna to Jewish parents and immigrated to the United States with his family when he was an infant. The elder Bernays had been a wealthy farmer, and he hoped his son would follow in his footsteps. So, he enrolled young Eddie in Cornell's esteemed College of Agriculture. Eddie complied, albeit unwillingly. A child of the Manhattan brownstone, he'd grown accustomed to the bustling pace of the big city. Upon receiving his degree in 1912, the only thing Eddie seemed certain of was that farm life was not for him. And that's when fate intervened.
One day while boarding the Ninth Avenue trolley on Manhattan, Eddie crossed paths with an old friend named Fred Robinson. Robinson offered Bernays a job managing two monthly journals, the Medical Review of Reviews and the Dietetic and Hygienic Gazette. Eddie accepted, although he knew little about publishing or medicine. Fortunately, none of that mattered a few months later, when he used the journals to publish a review of the play Damaged Goods. That may not sound like a big deal, but Damaged Goods was about a man who had syphilis. Sex was such a taboo subject at the time that New York censors had previously shut down George Bernard Shaw's Mrs. Warren's Profession because it dealt with prostitution. Regardless, Eddie published a rave review and even offered to help produce the show. But the real trick was convincing censors to look the other way.
Employing a technique that would later become one of his trademarks, Eddie created a "third party authority" called the Sociological Fund Committee. It was a fake organization tailor-made to legitimize the play as a crusade against the prevailing attitude of "sex-pruriency." After lobbying prominent society figures, Eddie had supporters like John D. Rockefeller and Franklin Roosevelt on his side. Although critics lampooned the play, Bernays made syphilis a cause célèbre, and turned the production into a huge financial success.
Id, Ego, and Super-Uncle
The future looked bright for Bernays the Producer, but then fate stepped in again with the outbreak of World War II. Eddie tried to enlist, but was turned away due to flat feet and poor vision. Undeterred, he set his sights on the Committee on Public Information -the propaganda machine responsible for Uncle Sam's "I Want You" recruitment poster. There, as co-head of the Latin American section, Bernays honed his manipulative propaganda skills.
Although the agency's propaganda helped America win the war, its methods were sharply criticized by members of Congress, who suspected the CPI of censoring the media. The organization was dismantled, the profession of public relations came under heavy scrutiny, and Bernays was left severely disillusioned.
Salvation came in the form of Sigmund Freud, Bernays' famous uncle. In 1919, Eddie translated a series of Freud's lectured into English, and the work brought the psychiatrist widespread attention in America. Despite being derided by some critics as a "professional nephew," Eddie largely benefitted from having a famous uncle. Freud's theories on human behavior ignited a new fire in Bernays. He realized that if propaganda could be used to manipulate Americans during times of war, it could also be used in times of peace to influence trends, habits, and -most importantly- consumer spending.
Bookshelves, Hairnets, and Children Who Love to Wash Their Hands
Buoyed by Freud's success, Bernays embarked upon a series of campaigns that secured him as the master of marketing. When a group of major book publishers asked him to bolster sales, he proclaimed, "Where there are bookshelves, there will be books." Bernays then convinced architects, construction companies, and interior designers to install bookshelves in new homes. The scheme paid off, and the book business skyrocketed.
In another campaign, Bernays helped a company named Venida salvage lagging hairnet sales. Short hairstyles were in, thanks to dancehall icon Irene Castle. And without long locks, women had no need for hairnets. Bernays created a new market, repurposing the beauty accessory as safety gear. He asked experts to issue reports explaining the hazards of hair falling into food or getting caught in machinery. Soon, Venida hairnets became essential for all restaurant and factory workers.
His genius didn't stop there, either. When client Proctor & Gamble approached Bernays in the 1920s to help make its soap more appealing to children, Eddie promised that "Children, the enemies of soap, would be conditioned to enjoy using Ivory." And just like Pavlov and his dogs, Eddie trained America's youth to associate soap with fun. He created the National Soap Sculpture Contest, complete with heavily publicized cash prizes. A sweeping success, it became an annual tradition that kept children whittling away at Ivory for the next 38 years.
Torches of Freedom
Not all of Bernays' campaigns were so wholesome. One of his most well-known, if not controversial, projects was for Lucky Strike cigarettes. In the late 1920s, American Tobacco Company chairman George Washington Hill charged Bernays' PR firm with acquiring a new market for its cigarettes -women. In Eddie's words, "Hill become obsessed with the prospect of winning over the largest potential female market for Luckies. 'If I can crack that market.' he said to me one day, "it will be like opening a new goldmine right in our front yard.'"
For the campaign, Bernays enlisted the help of his wife, fellow marketing genius Doris Fleischman. First, they worked to brand cigarettes as an alternative to candy. When that didn't work, they tried to convince women that green -the official color of Luckies- was the new black. With assistance from editors at Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, green began to dominate the fashion world. The duo even orchestrated a "Green Ball" in New York, featuring some of the city's most prominent socialites. Although Lucky Strikes' sales climbed, it wasn't enough. Bernays and Fleischman realized that true success would require overcoming a major taboo. In society's eyes, women still weren't allowed to smoke in public. Armed with the knowledge that many women smoked in private, they staged an event that captivated the nation.
On Easter Sunday in 1929, a group of ten women strolled down Fifth Avenue in full view of church-going families (as well as conveniently-placed photographers) flaunting lit cigarettes, which they called their "Torches of Freedom." The news story caught fire, and controversy raged between women's groups on both sides of the issue. Around the nation, copycat "Torches of Freedom" sparked up, and millions of dollars poured into the coffers of American Tobacco. 
Smoke and Mirrors
Unfortunately, the tobacco campaign backfired on Bernays. His wife Doris joined the legions of female smokers and became a lifelong tobacco user, despite protests from Eddie and their children.
Overcome with guilt, Bernays launched a radical plan in 1964 to eradicate smoking from society. Wielding medical research on the harmful effects of tobacco, he campaigned to convince America that smoking was an "antisocial action which no self-respecting person carries on in the presence of others." His efforts led to a ban on cigarette advertising from radio and television, which dealt a major blow to companies he once served.
Eddie felt guilty about other things, too. In the early 1950s, the United Fruit Company enlisted his help in Guatemala. The company was trying to hold onto the land leased to them by the government -land that national officials wanted to reclaim for the Guatemalan people. Bernays responded by waging a propaganda war that made president Jacobo Arbenz out to be a Communist. The claim was categorically untrue, but McCarthy-era politicos seized the rhetoric and rallied for war against the tiny nation. Bernays enlisted the CIA's help and orchestrated an elaborate liberation campaign to replace the democratically-elected president with a United Fruit Company puppet. The resulting Banana Republic lasted for decades.
Bernays must have felt his greatest moment of self-doubt in 1933 when foreign correspondent Karl von Weigand contacted him upon his return from Nazi Germany. During an interview with Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's devoted friend and minister of propaganda, von Weigand had noticed a familiar book sitting prominently on Goebbels' desk; it was Bernays' seminal work Crystallizing Public Opinion. Ironically, Eddie was Jewish.
The Sultan of Spin
Bernays formally retired in the early 1960s, but he kept working as a consultant until he was 100 years old. In 1990, he was voted to LIFE magazine's list of the 100 Most Influential People of the 20th Century. Bernays died on March 9, 1995 in Cambridge, Mass. at the age of 103.
Through his long and storied career, it's estimated that Bernays had 435 clients, not to mention countless disciples. His exhaustive list of clients included General Motors, the NAACP, the Multiple Sclerosis Society, and CBS, as well as famed individuals like playwright Eugene O'Neill, painter Georgia O'Keefe, and presidents Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover.
Despite his controversial campaigns, Bernays always demanded that PR professional adhere to a strict moral code. He believed the field should be licensed, like that of lawyers or doctors, so that only qualified professionals could practice. After all, he -more than anyone- understood that with the power of public persuasion came great responsibilities.
_______________________ The article above, written by Fabian Marquez, is reprinted with permission from the March-April 2008 issue of mental_floss magazine.
Be sure to visit mental_floss' website and blog for more fun stuff!  |
| The Netherlands' Flower Parade Posted: 09 Nov 2012 04:00 AM PST 
Every year, the Dutch town of Zundert holds an enormous festival of flowers. This float, like all of the others pictured at the link, is covered with flowers. What the people can do with them is amazing! Link | Photo: Flower Foundation Zundert |
| The 51-star US Flag Posted: 09 Nov 2012 03:00 AM PST 
On Tuesday, the majority of the voting citizens of Puerto Rico indicated they would like to become the 51st state of the United States. That's a long way from statehood, but it is the first step. The immediate question arose as to what a flag with 51 stars would look like. Redditors were eager to suggest designs, the best of which you can find at The Daily Dot. My favorite is the Pac-Man flag, which sadly, was later determined to have only 50 stars. Link |
| President Robot during the Cold War Posted: 09 Nov 2012 02:00 AM PST 
You kids weren't alive back then. You don't know what it was like. It wasn't a question of "Will there be a nuclear war?" but "When will it happen?" And at the most crucial moment, it was up to President Robot to stare down the Soviet threat while not actually provoking a nuclear exchange. Link -via Super Punch | Image: Vincent Cacciotti |
| R2-D2: A Dancing Machine Posted: 09 Nov 2012 01:00 AM PST |
| Taxidermied Squirrel Riding a Rattlesnake Posted: 09 Nov 2012 12:00 AM PST 
Yeeeeeeehaw! We'll saddle break this wild rattler if it takes all week! It pains me to admit it, but this masterpiece of taxidermy is not a product of Texas. eBay seller azhotstuff-2008 of Congress, Arizona recently sold it a buyer of obviously refined tastes. Link -via Blame It on the Voices |
| Forgetful Driver Posted: 08 Nov 2012 11:00 PM PST |
| Rilakkuma Tote Bag Posted: 08 Nov 2012 10:00 PM PST 
Rilakkuma Tote Bag - $30.95 (front and back shown)
Attention Rilakkuma fans! Behold the very charming Rilakkuma Tote Bag from the NeatoShop. This delightful purse features an adorable Rilakkuma face and wonderful embroidered details. Note the faux zipper on the back. This bag is perfect for heading out to your favorite pancake spot. Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Bags & Totes and more fantastic Rilakkuma items. Link |
| Wear Your Luggage Posted: 08 Nov 2012 10:00 PM PST 
Since airlines now charge extra to take luggage on flights, everyone's looking for a way to get rid of the suitcase. How about wearing this ugly, bulky vest/dress with enough pockets to stash all your stuff? The folks at the security checkpoint will hate you, but the airlines can't charge you for a checked bag! Link |
| Top Chef Season 10 Kick Off Posted: 08 Nov 2012 09:00 PM PST 
There is a time, every few months, that is filled with magic. A time of incredible excitement, of jolly, and of mesmerizing personality. My friends, Top Chef is back! Season 10 starts off with just as much promise as any past season. The judges are back (even young Uni-Monster Hugh Acheson), the location is set (Seattle) and Padma is looking beautiful as always - I love you Padma. Let's recap episode one! Warning - Spoilers beyond this point. First, a disclaimer. I don't know all that much about cooking and I am not going to pretend to. I love Top Chef because of how seriously they compete, because I get exposed to this whole cooking culture I know little about, because the food looks so damn good, and because of the characters. I could write a much longer post on how many awesome and interesting people we have gotten to see through the years on Top Chef. I am into it, so to speak. I hope you are too. Anywho. Like Top Chef Texas, they decided to start off Top Chef Seattle a bit differently. More like a preseason warm-up than a real episode. This season you have to earn your way to Seattle, you must past a test administered by one of the Top Chef Judges. Tom Colicchio, Emeril Lagasse, Hugh (armed with bad Knight jokes) Acheson, and Wolfgang Puck each get a group of chefs to judge. They choose who gets a jacket and who goes home based on whatever they want, clean and simple. They can also take as many chefs as they want, which is a relief. I was surprised nice guy Puck (man with the world's best accent) was even able to cut one, sending them packing. To save time, we'll skip ahead to the end and eliminations. After one episode we went from 21 chefs to 15. It's the preseason remember. The chefs that made it through are Bart Vandaele, Brooke Williamson, Carla Pellegrino, Chrissy Camba, Danyele McPherson, Eliza Gavin, Elizabeth Binder, Jeffrey Jew,John Tesar, Josh Valentine, Kristen KishKuniko Yagi, Micah Fields, Sheldon Simeon, and Tyler Wiard. Check out their bios linked above. If you haven't memorized everyone names by now, no worries. Here is a cheat sheet to help you figure it out. If you want more Top Chef posts submit a comment below! 
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| Hank's Election Day Posted: 08 Nov 2012 08:00 PM PST Remember Hank, the Maine coon cat who ran for the U.S. Senate seat in Virginia? His biggest human competitors were Tim Kaine and George Allen. Kaine won the election with 1.9 million votes to Allen's 1.7 million. But what if the race had been closer? Hank the cat pulled in thousands of write-in votes, making him a possible third-place finisher!
Virginia doesn’t list the names of write-in candidates, but it does show the number of write-in votes by county. So we don’t know for sure if Hank came in third, but it’s a growing possibility.
Matthew O’Leary, the campaign manager for Hank, tells Constitution Daily that his candidate has 6,832 votes as of Thursday morning, not counting absentee and provisional ballots.
O’Leary says it is the highest total for a write-in U.S. Senate candidate in Virginia since 2002, which would likely indicate that Hank finished third behind Kaine and Allen, when the election board releases that data.
O’Leary hopes to have a final vote count on Tuesday, November 13, when Virginia’s precincts have to file certified results. He also will contact each of Virginia’s 134 precincts to request write-in results.
Even if he had won the race, Hank would be ineligible to hold the office. He's only ten years old. Link -via Buzzfeed |
| Gym Options Posted: 08 Nov 2012 07:00 PM PST 
Are those my only two options? Damn. Side note: remember that conversation we had about phone numbers and area codes? Where in the world would these digits be from? I am guessing UK somewhere, but I am not so sure. -Via I'm Serious. Loljk. |
| Why Do Auctioneers Talk Like That? Posted: 08 Nov 2012 06:00 PM PST The breathless cadence of a professional auctioneer is fascinating, and sometimes barely decipherable (tobacco auctioneers are an extreme example). Why do they fill the air with nonstop patter -and so fast?
They talk like that to hypnotize the bidders. Auctioneers don't just talk fast—they chant in a rhythmic monotone so as to lull onlookers into a conditioned pattern of call and response, as if they were playing a game of "Simon says." The speed is also intended to give the buyers a sense of urgency: Bid now or lose out. And it doesn't hurt the bottom line, either. Auctioneers typically take home from 10 to 20 percent of the sale price. Selling more items in less time means they make more money.
Well, that may answer the question, but you can also read about the finer points of auctioneering and how you can learn the routine yourself, at Slate. Link -via mental_floss |
| Cerealism by Ernie Button Posted: 08 Nov 2012 05:00 PM PST You see your morning cereal and you see food, but photographer Ernie Button sees art. Take a look at his fantastic photography series title Cerealism and see if you can identify the brands used: Link - via PetaPixel |
| The World's Smallest Dog? Posted: 08 Nov 2012 04:00 PM PST 
Meysi, a terrier crossbreed who lives in Poland, is only about the size of a soda can. She is 7 centimeters tall, 12 centimeters long, and weighs 250 grams (about nine ounces). Meysi is only four months old, so any world record will have to wait until she is at least one year old. But have you ever seen such a tiny dog? See some videos of Meysi at Laughing Squid. Link
(Image credit: Anna Pohl) |
| A Six Word Short Story by Ernest Hemingway Posted: 08 Nov 2012 03:00 PM PST 
The legend goes, Ernest Hemingway once won a bet by writing a six word short story that was so good, it could make people cry. While this is a thought provoking bit of writing that has been floating around the internet for a while, there is no telling if it was ever really written by Hemingway. Snopes concludes that it is undeterminable whether this is actually him. Still impressive flash fiction though. -Via Amanda patterson |
| Nikon D700 Camera Disassembled Posted: 08 Nov 2012 02:00 PM PST |
| Petri Dish Ornaments Posted: 08 Nov 2012 01:30 PM PST 
Hey, how about a science-themed Christmas tree this year? Or you might know a scientist or student who'd enjoy having a Petri dish ornament! Artist Michele Banks makes and sells them, but don't worry about dangerous cultures of microbes; the stuff growing inside is really paint. Some are extremely realistic, others not so much: she even has one that appears to be growing kittens! See them all at the Etsy store Artologica. Link -via Boing Boing
Previously:Michele Banks artworks. |
| Edward Scissorhands Plush Posted: 08 Nov 2012 01:00 PM PST 
Edward Scissorhands Plush - $11.95 Don't be shy. Come over here and check out the very adorable Edward Scissorhands Plush from the NeatoShop. Despite his appearance he is actually perfect for cuddling up with on cold snowy nights. Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more fantastic Plush Toys. Link |
| Pooch Polls Posted: 08 Nov 2012 01:00 PM PST 
The website Quartz has come up with some interesting numbers in using dog expenditures as economic indicators. Today, four countries—Chile, Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico—rank in the world’s top 10 for household penetration. The average home in those countries is more likely to have a pooch than not have one. Brazil tops the list in absolute terms, with nearly 36 million pups—more dogs than Canada has people.
Being a dog owner and an American you would think I find solace in the fact that the US doesn't rank too high on the list. Well you have to remember this is only small dogs. Dog ownership, like cocaine use, can be seen as an economic indicator. Higher incomes mean people can actually afford to have pets—not to mention feed them pricey kibbles, send them to groomers and kennels, buy them toys, and flaunt them in dog shows. For that reason, the US remains a paragon of dog-doting, with the world’s biggest pet pooch population, in both absolute and per capita terms.
A paragon of dog-doting. Huh. Where does your country stack up? Check out their post on weekly food spending as well. -Via The Daily Beast |
| Subliminal Compliments by Your Starbucks Coffee Posted: 08 Nov 2012 12:30 PM PST 
Well, that $5 venti soy Caramel Macchiato sure knows how to stroke your ego! (At that price, it better be good). Tumblr blogger Kittens, Pills and Starving Thrills noticed a subliminal message in your morning cup of Starbucks coffee: Link - via Lost At E Minor |
| Craigslist Vampire Posted: 08 Nov 2012 12:00 PM PST 
A man in Seattle posted something very strange on the Craigslist Personals section. It wasn't a risque photo or any exclusively sexual request, he wanted blood. To drink. Because he's a vampire. Well blood and sex, this is still Craigslist guys. "Greetings to everyone who is reading this," he begins, "I am unable to give my name for obvious reason, but all you do need to know is that I am a vampire... ...I am in need of a blood donor for my personal use. Being a donor is not all fun and games, mixed with mysticism and sex; but it can be if that is what we wish... ...I am looking for either men or women, but I would prefer men since I lean more towards them in terms of blood and sex... ...It would also be great if you were either AB- or O-, for those are the blood types that I am used to... ...This would be an intimate, one-on-one, experience. I use a wide range of techniques, in case you would care for something other than myself biting you."
-Via Orange |
| Helvetia's Dream Posted: 08 Nov 2012 11:30 AM PST ![]()
I'm a sucker for nighttime time lapse, but you too will be mesmerized by this video of Switzerland by night by Alessandro Della Bella. Take a look and then head on over to Helvetia by Night for the "making of" and photo galleries. ‘Helvetia’s Dream’ takes you on a nighttime journey to some of the most beautiful spots in the Swiss Alps – from Arosa to Zermatt, including the world famous mountains Matterhorn and Eiger. @0:46 watch the persistent train of a bright meteor above Tijerflue Mountain in Arosa, December 2010, which was visible for about 20 minutes. A slow motion effect is applied for better visibility of the shooting star and its trail of ‘smoke’, which consists of ionized gas left behind as the meteor burns up in the atmosphere. @1:14 clouds above Lake Geneva steam up the lens. @1:36 on the very left: Climbers step into the unpredictable Eiger Nordwand. @1:44 the Milky Way rises above the ‘Donkey’ rock on Pilatus. @1:58 snowcats nearby cause the lighting of the summit cross on Fronalpstock Mountain. (Snowcat lights usually spoil time-lapse) @2:21 the wind changes the reflection of Säntis Mountain in the Seealpsee. @2:35 three settings showing orbits of stars. This is an alternative technique to display the movement of stars by sequentially adding the luminosity of each exposure. The result is basically a long exposure with a large aperture. @2:49 the waxing new moon, not full moon, setting over Pilatus.
Hit play or go to Link [Vimeo] |
| Puppy Precinct Posted: 08 Nov 2012 11:00 AM PST 
What? That is not a real puppy. That's too small to be a real puppy. Reference here (0:20 mark). Maybe before you get to be a K-9 unit you have to be a Puppy-Unit. Can you imagine what the training is like? Killer kill! Yo, Killer kill! He stops criminals with his cuteness alone, I assume. -Via Daily Picks and Flicks |
| LEGO Big MaK Mech Posted: 08 Nov 2012 10:30 AM PST 
LEGO enthusiasts Sean and Steph Mayo created this Big MaK mech, complete with anti-air fry missiles, heavy Big Mac armor, sniper-fry cannon and vanilla frostie ... with sprinkles! It's for BrickLink's Creations for Charity where LEGO builders donate their creations to raise money to buy LEGO sets for underprivileged children during the holiday. Lambert Varias of Technabob wrote: "I imagine the Taco Bell mech will be able to combine with the Doritos mech to form a smaller but tougher robot, the KFC robot will be a robot sandwiched in between two other robots and the Pizza Hut robot will be stuffed with smaller robots."
We can't wait till the next build! Link |
| The Art of Ironing Posted: 08 Nov 2012 10:00 AM PST 
Well, I have trouble ironing even the simplest things, but perhaps it's because I don't have the appropriate equipment. Philips Russia shows us how their iron can turn wrinkles into works of art: Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] |
| What Happens When You Can't Decide On A Single Costume Idea Posted: 08 Nov 2012 09:30 AM PST 
I like trying to recognize all of the influences in this costume. I see Doctor Who, Indiana Jones, Wolverine, Jack Sparrow, Han Solo, Superman and Boba Fett. Am I missing anything? Link |
| Good Samaritan Cleaner Posted: 08 Nov 2012 09:00 AM PST 
Don't call I find you. I can't tell if that is a threat or a promise from a good Samaritan. They will clean your house whether you want them to or not! -Via Presurfer |
| This Dog Has Some Serious Parkour Skills Posted: 08 Nov 2012 08:30 AM PST |
| Babe Magnets Posted: 08 Nov 2012 08:00 AM PST 
 Babe Magnets - $14.95 (sold individually)
Are you on the prowl for a hot desk accessory? You need the Babe Magnet from the NeatoShop. These attractive magnets are perfect for organizing a messy desk. The man and the woman are both magnetic. The base is heavy enough to act as a paperweight. Babe Magnets are available in both man and woman. Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Office Supplies. Link |
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