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COM 3800/ Professor Susan Mekrami
Extra Credit – PR Museum
January 9th 2016
Serena Zou
Engage in the World of Public Relations
On Friday, January 8th, 2016, I visited the world’s only public relations museum, which
was curated by Ms. Shelley Spector. This exhibit highlighted the works of Mr. Edward Bernays,
the “Father of Spin” in the 20th century. Mr. Bernays engineered the public into thinking the way
he wanted and changed the way we see public relations today. This “real-life” experience also
distinguished the sometimes blurry lines between public relations and marketing and advertising
that I learned from my Principles of Marketing class in Spring 2015. The museum also
demonstrated to me the evolution that public relations has gone through in recent years due to
technological advancement, and the power this profession has to influence society.
I learned more about the credibility that a third party could bring to a public relations
campaign from Bernays’ healthy “bacon and eggs” breakfast promotion during The Great
Depression. The success of this campaign illustrated that by having outside authorities to back up
his claim, Bernays was able to convince his public of the health benefits that bacon and eggs
could bring to them, and that it was worthwhile for Americans to consume a healthy breakfast
despite the fact that they were suffering.
The film about Bernay’s cigarette campaign also impressed me insofar as it symbolized
and promoted men’s awareness about women’s equality in the 1930’s. The film reemphasized
the gender struggles, especially when Bernays shared his opinion on women being permitted to
smoke around the time they demanded the right to vote. Based on the fact that his wife became a
heavy smoker, after winning her rights like many other women did, I assumed that Bernays
supported this revolution for women’s rights at the time. As a public relations practitioner, he

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took the initiative to publicize the mass movement the female fellows conducted and thus
motivated women from other parts of the country to do the same. The success of this campaign
also demonstrates the influence public relations has on society.
The tour of the public relations museum allowed me the opportunity to see the facilities
and conditions that Mr. Edward Bernays worked in. Although he lived in an era with limited
technology, he was still able to conduct an outstanding “plan process” and become “the Father of
Spin.” In particular, his aged typewriter showed me the difficulties he confronted while sharing
his thoughts with the public. It also made me feel grateful about the effort he put into writing his
articles, and how fortune we are today to have access to advanced technology, such as
computers. Additionally, the telephone also impressed me, as I previously only saw one on
television, and this was the first time I was exposed to it in reality. Learning that Bernays used
this telephone module to connect himself with the world further demonstrated the talent for
public relations.
I learned most about Bernays and his work from the museum director, Ms. Shelley
Spector. Not only did she explain Bernays’ unique family background and career, Ms. Spector
also gave examples of her personal interactions with him. Through her experience with Bernays,
I noticed that his public relations career was not simply to market or advertise his campaigns.
Rather, he actively influenced his audiences mainly by planting emotions in them, enabling him
to move his audiences in a personal way as he did with me.
I came to know Bernays personally via Ms. Spectors’ experiences. When she told the
class how Bernays was shocked when he first saw himself on televisions in 1980, I was amazed
by the rapid development that the late 20th century brought to the world. I started to realize how
this technological development has very much defined and shaped the careers of contemporary

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public relations professionals. One certain conclusion is that, in addition to paying attention to
the press, social media should be a significant element for today’s practitioners to develop
relationships with.