Edward Louis James Bernays

I. Read and translate the text.

Edward Louis James Bernays (November 22, 1891 − March 9, 1995) was an Austrian-American pioneer in the field of public relations and propaganda, referred to in his obituary as " the father of public relations". He combined the ideas of Gustave Le Bon and Wilfred Trotter on crowd psychology with the psychoanalytical ideas of his uncle, Sigmund Freud.

He felt this manipulation was necessary in society, which he regarded as irrational and dangerous as a result of the " herd instinct" that Trotter had described.

Adam Curtis's award-winning 2002 documentary for the BBC, The Century of the Self, pinpoints Bernays as the originator of modern public relations, and Bernays was named one of the 100 most influential Americans of the 20th century by Life magazine.

Bernays refined and popularized the use of the press release, following its invention by PR man Ivy Lee, who had issued a press release after the 1906 Atlantic City train wreck. One of the most famous campaigns of Bernays was the women's cigarette smoking campaign in 1920s. Bernays helped the smoking industry overcome one of the biggest social taboos of the time: women smoking in public. Women were only allowed to smoke in designated areas, or not at all. Women caught violating this rule were arrested.

Bernays staged the 1929 Easter parade in New York City, showing models holding lit Lucky Strike cigarettes, or " Torches of Freedom". After the historic public event, women started lighting up more than ever before. It was through Ber –

nays that women's smoking habits started to become socially acceptable. Bernays created this event as news, which it was not. Bernays convinced industries that the news, not advertising, was the best medium to carry their message to an unsuspect –

Unit I Public Relations

ing public. One of Bernays's favorite techniques for manipulating public opinion was the indirect use of " third party authorities" to plead his clients' causes. " If you can influence the leaders, either with or without their conscious cooperation, you automatically influence the group which they sway." he said. In order to promote sales of bacon, for example, he conducted a survey of physicians and reported their recommendation that people eat heavy breakfasts. He sent the results of the survey to 5, 000 physicians, along with publicity touting bacon and eggs as an ideal heavy breakfast and superior for health to the traditional breakfast of tea (or coffee) and toast.

Bernays also drew upon his uncle Sigmund's psychoanalytic ideas for the benefit of commerce in order to promote, by indirection, commodities as diverse cigarettes, soap and books. In addition to the theories of his uncle, Bernays used those of Ivan Pavlov.

(wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bernays)

NOTES

Edward Louis James Bernays [ ˈ edwə d ˈ luː ɪ ʤ eɪ mz bə r’neɪ z] (November 22, 1891 − March 9, 1995) was an Austrian-American pioneer in the field of public relations and propaganda.

Sigmund Freud [‘sɪ ɡ mə nd ˈ frɔ ɪ d] (6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist, now known as the father of psychoanalysis.

Gustave Le Bon [lə bɔ ̃ ] was a French social psychologist, sociologist, anth - ropologist, inventor, and amateurphysicist.

II. Read and memorize the following words:

conduct v. – проводить

convince v. – убеждать

crowd – толпа

designated – предназначенный

draw upon v. - привлекать

famous – знаменитый, известный

herd - стадо

in order to – для того, чтобы

physician – врач, доктор

pinpoint v. – точно определять

plead v. – защищать (в суде)

press release – сообщение для печати; пресс-коммюнике

refer v. – ссылаться, приписывать

survey – обозрение, обследование

sway v. – иметь влияние на, склонять кого-л. к чему-л.

technique – метод, способ

Unit I Public Relations