A Marketing And Advertising Analysis Of Bernays Correspondence Regarding Freud
1. A Marketing and Advertising Analysis of Bernaysâ Correspondence Regarding Freud
William Sipling
Ohio University History Graduate Student Association Conference
Athens, OH
March 28th, 2020
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A Marketing and Advertising Analysis of Bernaysâ Correspondence Regarding
Freud
âSpell-bindingâ may be a worthy description of the semi-mythological yet social-
scientific work advertisers and marketers carry out within the collective consciousness of
Americans, harnessing the deeply encoded power of archetypes, desire, and identity by the use of
unconscious behavioral cues, unspoken sublimation, and subtle suggestion.1
The connection between the provenance of both modern marketing and modern
psychology is both practical and familial: practical in that fundamentally to get a consumer to
buy is to make a human act; and familial in that the ostensible âfathersâ of each field were in fact
related. Sigmund Freud, founder of psychoanalysis and veritable figurehead of pop-
psychological practice, was uncle to Edward Bernays, the âad manâ who put Madison Avenue on
the map through his practice of communication âpropagandaâ (later renamed to âPR,â for public
relations reasons).
The connection between these practitioners will be explored through letter writing
accessible in the Library of Congressâ recently digitized collection of the Sigmund Freud Papers,
the Austrian analystâs correspondence between family, friends, and business partnersâand in
this paper, related letters about Freud in correspondence with Bernays. To begin, a brief
introduction will be made establishing each writerâs importance to their respective and
intertwined fields, then will follow an examination of relevant letters, followed by a praxis-
1
Lawrence R. Samuel, Freud on Madison Avenue: Motivation Research and Subliminal Advertising in
America (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013), 3.
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using techniques such as free association, an inspection of family-of-origin experiences,
examinations of resistances elucidated in the transference between analyst and client, and the
interpretation of core conflicts in the client by the analystâs observations.6
His cultural influence is ubiquitous, and perhaps almost unconscious.7
From the
popularization of the therapistâs semi-recumbent couch, to the concepts of the Oedipus complex
or âid, ego, and superegoâ or âanal retentiveness,â to the commonly-held belief that
psychologists can interpret dreams, Freudâs mark has been made on commonly-shared
worldviews.
Edward L. Bernays: A âMad Manâ for Presidents, CEOs, and Corporations
The Viennese Edward Louis Bernays (1891-1995) was born into the right place and the
right time, with his connections to the budding field of psychology and into the modern world of
mass communication and advertising. Known as the father of modern public relations, his work
spanned âUnited States presidencies, overseas military coups, breakfast foods, hairnets,
cigarettes, and more.â8
Though perhaps not as common of a household names as Freud, his work
pervades many products, companies, and individuals, working for General Electric,9
the United
States Committee on Public Information,10
the GI Bill, the Navy, the DOD, Justice, and
6
Corey, 72â74.
7
Michael Jacobs, Sigmund Freud (London, UK: SAGE Publications, 2003), 119.
8
William Sipling, âBernays, Horkheimer, and Adorno: Theory in the Age of Social Media,â in Political
Propaganda, Advertising, and Public Relations: Emerging Research and Opportunities, ed. Samet KavoÄlu and
Meryem Salar (Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2020), 116.
9
Thomas H. Bivins, âA Golden Opportunity? Edward Bernays and the Dilemma of Ethics,â American
Journalism 30, no. 4 (January 1, 2013): 496, https://doi.org/10.1080/08821127.2013.857981.
10
Edward L. Bernays, âEmergence of the Public Relations Counsel: Principles and Recollections,â The
Business History Review 45, no. 3 (1971): 299, https://doi.org/10.2307/3113663.
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Agriculture, Proctor and Gamble, NAACP, Good Housekeeping, the American Tobacco
Company, The New Yorker, Fortune magazine, General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, the Worldâs
Fair, and more.
The author of two seminal books, Crystalizing Public Opinion (1923) and Propaganda
(1928), borrowed insights from sociologists or behavioral experts (such as Walter Lippman,
author of the Public Opinion in 192211
) to develop a popular-level understanding of the art of
selling on a global or national scale through radio and television.
Examining Freud-Bernays Correspondence: Letters and References
Bernays and Jones Correspondence
An interesting exchange exists between Bernays and a Dr. Ernest Jones, a British
psychoanalyst and friend of Freud.12
The apparent initial correspondence has to do with Jonesâ
questions about the American marketing of Freudâs textbook, The General Introduction of
Psychoanalysis.13
In this same letter, Bernays attaches various correspondence that related to its
publication in the US.
Freud describes the groundwork of these advertising connections by writing about his
networking at a US Committee on Public Information meeting that met in Vienna, and there
picked up, from a Havanan colleague, cigars intended for Freud. In this meeting where the cigars
11
Sue Curry Jansen, âSemantic Tyranny: How Edward L. Bernays Stole Walter Lippmannâs Mojo and Got
Away With It and Why It Still Matters,â International Journal of Communication (19328036) 7 (January 2013):
1096â97.
12
Brenda Maddox, Freudâs Wizard: The Enigma of Ernest Jones (John Murray, 2006), 1, 7.
13
Edward Bernays, âEdward Bernays to Ernest Jones,â June 25, 1953, Library of Congress Sigmund Freud
Papers, http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/ms004017.mss39990.00236.
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were exchanged, this colleague spoke highly of Freudâs Introductory Lectures and gave Bernays
a copy. Bernays would bring these to his American publisher, owned by Horace B. Liverightâit
just so happened that one of Freudâs relatives worked at this company as well. Having connected
these dots, Bernays wrote to Freud expressing an opportunity for the English-language
publication of The General Introduction. After communication between various parties, Dr.
Freudâs book on psychoanalysis was translated and put in stores, apparently very successful in
the US market.
Bernays relates that his Austrian uncle did not have a high view of American standardsâ
particularly, he seemed to hold a view that even nice restaurants were more like quintessential
âgreasy spoons.â At lunch in the mountainous Carlsbad, uncle and nephew were surprised by the
presence of houseflies at their table, leading Freud to comment, âAh, there is a little fly walking
on a high plateau.â Apparently, this view of US standards reflected onto the printing industry,
with Bernays stating that Freud did not hold back his repugnance after receiving a proposal from
Liveright, suggesting that his company would produce an English biography for the
psychoanalyst.
Connections are important to these researchers of human behavior. Further Bernays-
Jones correspondence indicates a connection between their various circles of socializationâat a
âmost distinguishedâ gathering at the New York Psychiatric Institute, Bernays relates that many
in attendance spoke highly of Dr. Jones and his work as an analyst.14
14
Edward Bernays, âEdward Bernays to Ernest Jones,â January 27, 1956, Library of Congress Sigmund
Freud Papers, http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/ms004017.mss39990.00236.
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Perhaps the banal connections of a relatively new, flamboyant, and boundary-pushing
American publisher such as a Liveright were what led to a not-so-subtle censure. Liveright was
apparently disgruntled by early reviews of Freudâs books (of course, since these negative
appraisals could negatively affect bottom lines) and so wrote to the âbest publicity man in of the
countryâ to âcombatâ bad press.15
Bernays response, two days later, was prompt but brief: âDear
Liveright: thank you for the review, and for your complement.â16
His following strategy is
cutting, yet shruggingâhe states that the reviewers are not âmodernâ enough to understand his
uncleâs work, and implies something not entirely flattering to midwestern medical or counseling
practitioners, that they are simply not as refined as those on the East coast or in European
countries. Bernays does indicate that the fact that those in Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri (the
accusers mentioned by Liveright17
) do not appreciate Freudâs work could actually be a selling
point for the more-cultured palate of Easterners. He suggests (non-polemically) that a review
from one of these prestigious coastal (or perhaps Chicagoan) psychoanalysts should suffice as a
riposte.
Applications for Marketers and Advertisers: Learning from Behind the Scenes
The conversation between Jones and Bernays lends itself towards an interdisciplinary
discussion in of itselfâJonesâ aim was to discuss the advertising of Freudâs work with Bernays,
and so their correspondence is in essence and in metanarrative pedagogical.
15
Horace Liveright, âHorace Liveright to Edward Bernays,â November 9, 1920, Library of Congress
Sigmund Freud Papers, https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss39990.01221/?sp=6&r=-0.075,0.132,1.143,0.574,0.
16
Edward Bernays, âEdward Bernays to Sigmund Freud,â June 1, 1925, Library of Congress Sigmund
Freud Papers, http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/ms004017.mss39990.00236.
17
Liveright, âHorace Liveright to Edward Bernays,â November 9, 1920.
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Therefore, a rather straightforward pedagogical line of inquiry has to do with learning
what marketers and advertisers can study from Bernays-Freud-related correspondence.
Primarily, it perhaps cannot be understated regarding the importance of networking,
connections, and impressions in marketing and advertising. Correspondence is always strategic;
contacting the right individual for a problem or solution is key. In an academic article, Bernays
highlights this importance himself: âhuman engineeringâ towards projects, actions and (of
course) selling has to do with the strategic alignment and adjustment of social groups towards
certain end goals or against conflicts.18
To put it another way, advertising or PR is about using
the right tools to tell the right story to get the right people to make the right actions. It therefore
matters when a book hits the market, in which shops it appears, what the cover design looks like,
and who has endorsed the book. Of course, the planning and tactics for such a âGoldilocks
effectâ is the role of the âpublic relationsâ counsel.
Freud might discuss this as an efficacious âtransferenceâ relationship not between a
therapist and client, but between a PR team/practitioner or client, or advertiser and contact/lead.
The psychoanalytic approach towards human psychology may give theory for why this works.
For example, through the right advertising campaign, the marketer can communicate trust, which
maps to the human need for safety and security. Security need not only be something
communicated by the Department of Defense or the war effort (clients of Bernays), but rather
secure in oneâs selfâfor 40âs city dwellers, to solicit the Lucky Strike brand meant that one
adopted a persona given by Bernaysâ marketing efforts, becoming a classy urbanite getting
18
Edward L. Bernays, âHuman Engineering and Social Adjustment,â ETC: A Review of General Semantics
74, no. 3/4 (July 2017): 346â47.
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nicotine hits from doctor-approved smokes. Therefore, one could be secure or safe in their
identity by means of their subscription to certain in-group/out-group codes; in this case, the
brand on a cigarette carton.
Further, marketers might offer solutions or conveniences, which relate to the desire for
power or controlânot necessarily in negative ways, but rather of circumstances. For example, an
product like ready-made cake mixes (a product Bernays helped market) gives a customer power
to do other things with their day, since they save time not making a desert from scratch, or
control in having many options for cakes, since the ingredients (except an egg and some oil) are
all included in a mix.
The dynamics of these concrete examples in psychology played out in advertising appear
in these correspondences as well. The desire for convenience, yet ordered by desire to get
business done, may have led Freud to refrain from writing to Liveright directly concerning his
books. Rather, inquiries or questions were passed through Bernays.19
This could have been for
several reasons: it may have been Freudâs preference to avoid contact with a publishing firm that
the analyst found distasteful, but likely more because of Bernaysâ influence on Liveright.
Though perhaps another publisher would have been preferred by these behavioral
experts, it does seem that Bernaysâ expertise allowed him to have a louder voice in the
publication and publicity of his uncleâs works. Therefore, it seems the cost-benefit analysis done
by Bernays apparently led him to continue to engage in their professional relationship, and to do
so for decades.
19
Bernays, âEdward Bernays to Sigmund Freud,â June 1, 1925.
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The role of expertise in connection does play a large part within these professional
relationships. Bernays is more than happy to send personal correspondence and letters from his
uncle to Jones, and this seems to be the case for several reasons. First, perhaps because of
relationship as colleaguesâthe attempt at motivational flattery from Liveright does not seem to
be present in Jonesâ correspondence. Further, and more importantly, Jonesâ role as an influencer
in the British world of psychoanalysis was very advantageous to Bernaysâ and Freudâs work. The
connection here is importantâeven though there was not an immediate offer from Jones (as he
was looking to Bernays for advice in publishing), the relationship could be considered one of
long-term investmentâone, in hindsight, which certainly paid off for him. In reference to the
New York meeting of psychology, Jonesâ friendship with Bernays gave the father of PR social
capital within that community (furthered by the fact that Bernays âparticipatedâ in the meeting
âon behalf of the familyâ20
).
An application regarding bad PR comes from Bernaysâ response to Liverightâs
despondence regarding the receiving of bad reviews. Bernays is unworriedâlikely, for several
reasons. First, Bernays strategy was already worked out. A PR professional, by planning ahead,
assumes that not all media attention will be positive, and will therefore have in the works various
plans set up to counteract negative press. Such did not come as a surprise to Bernays, neither
should it shock todayâs advertisers. An element of scalability is contained within Bernaysâ letter
as well, relying on the intrinsic motivation of Liveright. Note that Bernays does not give
particular suggestions regarding which East coast psychologist should be conscripted to write
positive reviews of Freudâs book. Rather, it seems that Bernays trusts Liverightâconsidering
20
Bernays, âEdward Bernays to Ernest Jones,â January 27, 1956.
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that good press means more sales for Liveright, a plus for his bank accountsâto make these calls
himself.
Conclusion
Though social media, podcasts, and other modern media may have caused some to feel as
though Bernays is only a historical figure in the post-War advertising era, marketers have much
to learn from his behavioral insights many of which inspired by the psychoanalytic methods of
his uncle, Sigmund Freud. By examining their correspondence and related writings, one may find
insights that are useful in business or communication even in todayâs time.
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