The Century of Self
This video showed how Edward Bernays mastered the art of marketing. He figured out the wants and desires of the targeted group and manipulated them into consuming his current product. Bernays knew at the time that women had a desire for more freedom and wanted to be taken more seriously. Through advertising, Bernays convinced women that smoking cigarettes would make men take them more seriously. I could not help but laugh when I heard this and I couldn’t believe women gave into this sort of propaganda. However, now that I think about it, most of my life I have been surrounded by negativity towards smoking. Today, you can’t turn on the TV without seeing a TRUTH commercial with disturbing images that are a “direct result of cigarette smoking”. To be honest I don’t think a smoker would have an epiphany after seeing a TRUTH commercial and decide to stop.
Getting back on topic…Edward Bernays knew exactly what he was doing and the trend of advertising is still seen today. Not one person can say they have not been tricked into buying a product they didn’t really need or want. I think the most popular form of this is clothing products. Every week there is a new “hot” trend or accessory that is a “must have”. Who makes these decisions? I believe it is the always changing “Edward Bernays” of our time. Instead of having one guy deciding what to market, in our society there are too masters of advertising to count. They know exactly how to endorse and sell products by exposing what people can relate to and convince people that they need the current “thing”. Brilliant.
4 years ago • Notes