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The Hidden Persuaders

The Hidden Persuaders.

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The Hidden Persuaders

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  1. The Hidden Persuaders

  2. After and because of World War II, the United States had 65% of the world’s industrial capacity. By the 1950s, industrial giants were concerned that Americans had bought all their products and would stop buying, thus wrecking the consumer economy. Out of this, two strategies evolved. One was planned obsolescence, designing products that would soon be either outdated or break down, forcing the consumers to keep buying. The other was pushing advertising to a new level of intensity. Advertising agencies hired psychologists to design new strategies for boosting sales. Television was central to this, since consumers no longer had to go to the advertisers. Now advertisers could impose themselves into viewers’ homes every time they turned on the TV. Vance Packard’s book, The Hidden Persuaders, exposed many of the new strategies advertisers were using, including the alleged use of subliminal advertising, ads that would work beneath the conscious brain to influence people. For example, movies, which show 24 frames per second, purportedly would use one frame to display a picture of a soft drink, subconsciously enticing viewers to get up and head to the concessions stand. Despite Packard’s expose, advertising has grown and flourished ever since.

  3. a Surveys of people’s buying habits that showed: Conformity US has 60% of world’s ind’sPost-war boomAm’s have all they need Rest of world is impoverished by war & can’t buy products from US US businesses fear another Depression if they can’t sell products, esp. if there is no real difference b/w their products & others Use of non-rational techniques (e.g., bright colors & logos) to sell the illusion of: Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption Madison Ave. hires psych’s who identify & exploit several needs of consumers’ psyches: Security Focus ads on TV which has several advantages: Much harder to ignore visual medium than radio TV ads go straight into homes Consumers can’t escape TV ads can incessantly repeat their messageSinks in Oral gratification TV ads can reach & influence esp. impressionable children Lifelong customers Sometimes use questionable or controversial tactics: FC.142C THE HIDDEN PERSUADERS: A SHORT HISTORY OF ADVERTISING World War II (FC.136) Consumers often couldn’t distinguish their “favorite” products from others in blind tests People buy on basis of subconscious fears, prejudices, etc. & unconscious feelings Marshall Plan to revive Eur. Mkt’s (FC.138) Marshall Plan to revive Eur. Mkt’s (FC.138) Sex appeal: (e.g., fountain pens w/sleek bodies, beer, cigars, cigarettes, cars, & men’s adventure mags) Creative outlets: (e.g., Instant cake mixes where you add the egg & milk) Reassurance of worth: (e.g., detergents that give women status of clean homes) Emotional security for problems you never realized you had (e.g.,halitosis) Warm and fuzzy: e.g., using adorable children to sell cars Immortality: e.g., insurance policiesYou can take care of fam. after you die Subliminal advertising: ads are hidden so consumers only notice them subconsciously or unconsciously Planned obsolescence: Products are quickly outdated or break down so consumers buy newest model

  4. FC.142C THE HIDDEN PERSUADERS: A SHORT HISTORY OF ADVERTISING a World War II (FC.136)

  5. US has 60% of world’s ind’sPost-war boomAm’s have all they need FC.142C THE HIDDEN PERSUADERS: A SHORT HISTORY OF ADVERTISING a World War II (FC.136)

  6. US has 60% of world’s ind’sPost-war boomAm’s have all they need Rest of world is impoverished by war & can’t buy products from US FC.142C THE HIDDEN PERSUADERS: A SHORT HISTORY OF ADVERTISING a World War II (FC.136)

  7. US has 60% of world’s ind’sPost-war boomAm’s have all they need Rest of world is impoverished by war & can’t buy products from US Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption FC.142C THE HIDDEN PERSUADERS: A SHORT HISTORY OF ADVERTISING a World War II (FC.136)

  8. US has 60% of world’s ind’sPost-war boomAm’s have all they need Rest of world is impoverished by war & can’t buy products from US US businesses fear another Depression if they can’t sell products, esp. if there is no real difference b/w their products & others Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption FC.142C THE HIDDEN PERSUADERS: A SHORT HISTORY OF ADVERTISING a World War II (FC.136)

  9. US has 60% of world’s ind’sPost-war boomAm’s have all they need Rest of world is impoverished by war & can’t buy products from US US businesses fear another Depression if they can’t sell products, esp. if there is no real difference b/w their products & others Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption FC.142C THE HIDDEN PERSUADERS: A SHORT HISTORY OF ADVERTISING a World War II (FC.136) Marshall Plan to revive Eur. Mkt’s (FC.138) Marshall Plan to revive Eur. Mkt’s (FC.138)

  10. US has 60% of world’s ind’sPost-war boomAm’s have all they need Surveys of people’s buying habits that showed: Rest of world is impoverished by war & can’t buy products from US US businesses fear another Depression if they can’t sell products, esp. if there is no real difference b/w their products & others Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption FC.142C THE HIDDEN PERSUADERS: A SHORT HISTORY OF ADVERTISING a World War II (FC.136) Consumers often couldn’t distinguish their “favorite” products from others in blind tests People buy on basis of subconscious fears, prejudices, etc. & unconscious feelings Marshall Plan to revive Eur. Mkt’s (FC.138) Marshall Plan to revive Eur. Mkt’s (FC.138)

  11. US has 60% of world’s ind’sPost-war boomAm’s have all they need Surveys of people’s buying habits that showed: Rest of world is impoverished by war & can’t buy products from US US businesses fear another Depression if they can’t sell products, esp. if there is no real difference b/w their products & others Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption FC.142C THE HIDDEN PERSUADERS: A SHORT HISTORY OF ADVERTISING a World War II (FC.136) Consumers often couldn’t distinguish their “favorite” products from others in blind tests People buy on basis of subconscious fears, prejudices, etc. & unconscious feelings Marshall Plan to revive Eur. Mkt’s (FC.138) Marshall Plan to revive Eur. Mkt’s (FC.138)

  12. US has 60% of world’s ind’sPost-war boomAm’s have all they need Surveys of people’s buying habits that showed: Rest of world is impoverished by war & can’t buy products from US US businesses fear another Depression if they can’t sell products, esp. if there is no real difference b/w their products & others Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption FC.142C THE HIDDEN PERSUADERS: A SHORT HISTORY OF ADVERTISING a World War II (FC.136) Consumers often couldn’t distinguish their “favorite” products from others in blind tests People buy on basis of subconscious fears, prejudices, etc. & unconscious feelings Marshall Plan to revive Eur. Mkt’s (FC.138) Marshall Plan to revive Eur. Mkt’s (FC.138)

  13. US businesses fear another Depression if they can’t sell products, esp. if there is no real difference b/w their products & others Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption Oral gratification Rest of world is impoverished by war & can’t buy products from US Security Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption Conformity Surveys of people’s buying habits that showed: US has 60% of world’s ind’sPost-war boomAm’s have all they need Madison Ave. hires psych’s who identify & exploit several needs of consumers’ psyches: FC.142C THE HIDDEN PERSUADERS: A SHORT HISTORY OF ADVERTISING a World War II (FC.136) Consumers often couldn’t distinguish their “favorite” products from others in blind tests People buy on basis of subconscious fears, prejudices, etc. & unconscious feelings Marshall Plan to revive Eur. Mkt’s (FC.138) Marshall Plan to revive Eur. Mkt’s (FC.138)

  14. US businesses fear another Depression if they can’t sell products, esp. if there is no real difference b/w their products & others Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption Oral gratification Rest of world is impoverished by war & can’t buy products from US Security Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption Conformity Surveys of people’s buying habits that showed: US has 60% of world’s ind’sPost-war boomAm’s have all they need Madison Ave. hires psych’s who identify & exploit several needs of consumers’ psyches: FC.142C THE HIDDEN PERSUADERS: A SHORT HISTORY OF ADVERTISING a World War II (FC.136) Consumers often couldn’t distinguish their “favorite” products from others in blind tests People buy on basis of subconscious fears, prejudices, etc. & unconscious feelings Marshall Plan to revive Eur. Mkt’s (FC.138) Marshall Plan to revive Eur. Mkt’s (FC.138)

  15. These are real ads that reflect an age when every farmwife was also a brewer, since that was a way to preserve the crops over the next year. Keep in mind that until very recently, people’s concerns weren’t getting too many calories, but getting enough on which to survive. Beer was one source of vital calories.

  16. US businesses fear another Depression if they can’t sell products, esp. if there is no real difference b/w their products & others Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption Oral gratification Rest of world is impoverished by war & can’t buy products from US Security Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption Conformity Surveys of people’s buying habits that showed: US has 60% of world’s ind’sPost-war boomAm’s have all they need Madison Ave. hires psych’s who identify & exploit several needs of consumers’ psyches: FC.142C THE HIDDEN PERSUADERS: A SHORT HISTORY OF ADVERTISING a World War II (FC.136) Consumers often couldn’t distinguish their “favorite” products from others in blind tests People buy on basis of subconscious fears, prejudices, etc. & unconscious feelings Marshall Plan to revive Eur. Mkt’s (FC.138) Marshall Plan to revive Eur. Mkt’s (FC.138)

  17. US businesses fear another Depression if they can’t sell products, esp. if there is no real difference b/w their products & others Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption Oral gratification Rest of world is impoverished by war & can’t buy products from US Security Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption Conformity Surveys of people’s buying habits that showed: US has 60% of world’s ind’sPost-war boomAm’s have all they need Madison Ave. hires psych’s who identify & exploit several needs of consumers’ psyches: FC.142C THE HIDDEN PERSUADERS: A SHORT HISTORY OF ADVERTISING a World War II (FC.136) Consumers often couldn’t distinguish their “favorite” products from others in blind tests People buy on basis of subconscious fears, prejudices, etc. & unconscious feelings Marshall Plan to revive Eur. Mkt’s (FC.138) Marshall Plan to revive Eur. Mkt’s (FC.138)

  18. Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption US has 60% of world’s ind’sPost-war boomAm’s have all they need Surveys of people’s buying habits that showed: Conformity Madison Ave. hires psych’s who identify & exploit several needs of consumers’ psyches: Use of non-rational techniques (e.g., bright colors & logos) to sell the illusion of: Rest of world is impoverished by war & can’t buy products from US US businesses fear another Depression if they can’t sell products, esp. if there is no real difference b/w their products & others Security Oral gratification Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption FC.142C THE HIDDEN PERSUADERS: A SHORT HISTORY OF ADVERTISING a World War II (FC.136) Consumers often couldn’t distinguish their “favorite” products from others in blind tests People buy on basis of subconscious fears, prejudices, etc. & unconscious feelings Marshall Plan to revive Eur. Mkt’s (FC.138) Marshall Plan to revive Eur. Mkt’s (FC.138) Sex appeal: (e.g., fountain pens w/sleek bodies, beer, cigars, cigarettes, cars, & men’s adventure mags) Creative outlets: (e.g., Instant cake mixes where you add the egg & milk) Reassurance of worth: (e.g., detergents that give women status of clean homes) Emotional security for problems you never realized you had (e.g.,halitosis) Warm and fuzzy: e.g., using adorable children to sell cars Immortality: e.g., insurance policiesYou can take care of fam. after you die

  19. Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption US has 60% of world’s ind’sPost-war boomAm’s have all they need Surveys of people’s buying habits that showed: Conformity Madison Ave. hires psych’s who identify & exploit several needs of consumers’ psyches: Use of non-rational techniques (e.g., bright colors & logos) to sell the illusion of: Rest of world is impoverished by war & can’t buy products from US US businesses fear another Depression if they can’t sell products, esp. if there is no real difference b/w their products & others Security Oral gratification Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption FC.142C THE HIDDEN PERSUADERS: A SHORT HISTORY OF ADVERTISING a World War II (FC.136) Consumers often couldn’t distinguish their “favorite” products from others in blind tests People buy on basis of subconscious fears, prejudices, etc. & unconscious feelings Marshall Plan to revive Eur. Mkt’s (FC.138) Marshall Plan to revive Eur. Mkt’s (FC.138) Sex appeal: (e.g., fountain pens w/sleek bodies, beer, cigars, cigarettes, cars, & men’s adventure mags) Creative outlets: (e.g., Instant cake mixes where you add the egg & milk) Reassurance of worth: (e.g., detergents that give women status of clean homes) Emotional security for problems you never realized you had (e.g.,halitosis) Warm and fuzzy: e.g., using adorable children to sell cars Immortality: e.g., insurance policiesYou can take care of fam. after you die

  20. Before the 1950s, ads for women’s undergarments were found mainly in Sears catalogs until… Below: inventor Of the modern bra in the 1920s, Ida Rosenthal

  21. One of the most successful ad campaigns was a series for Maidenform bras where a woman claimed to have dreamed being in all sorts of unique or exotic situations wearing nothing above the waist except her Maidenform bra. In the TV version of the ad on the right, the woman exclaimed: “What a construction job!”

  22. 1982

  23. Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption US has 60% of world’s ind’sPost-war boomAm’s have all they need Surveys of people’s buying habits that showed: Conformity Madison Ave. hires psych’s who identify & exploit several needs of consumers’ psyches: Use of non-rational techniques (e.g., bright colors & logos) to sell the illusion of: Rest of world is impoverished by war & can’t buy products from US US businesses fear another Depression if they can’t sell products, esp. if there is no real difference b/w their products & others Security Oral gratification Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption FC.142C THE HIDDEN PERSUADERS: A SHORT HISTORY OF ADVERTISING a World War II (FC.136) Consumers often couldn’t distinguish their “favorite” products from others in blind tests People buy on basis of subconscious fears, prejudices, etc. & unconscious feelings Marshall Plan to revive Eur. Mkt’s (FC.138) Marshall Plan to revive Eur. Mkt’s (FC.138) Sex appeal: (e.g., fountain pens w/sleek bodies, beer, cigars, cigarettes, cars, & men’s adventure mags) Creative outlets: (e.g., Instant cake mixes where you add the egg & milk) Reassurance of worth: (e.g., detergents that give women status of clean homes) Emotional security for problems you never realized you had (e.g.,halitosis) Warm and fuzzy: e.g., using adorable children to sell cars Immortality: e.g., insurance policiesYou can take care of fam. after you die

  24. Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption US has 60% of world’s ind’sPost-war boomAm’s have all they need Surveys of people’s buying habits that showed: Conformity Madison Ave. hires psych’s who identify & exploit several needs of consumers’ psyches: Use of non-rational techniques (e.g., bright colors & logos) to sell the illusion of: Rest of world is impoverished by war & can’t buy products from US US businesses fear another Depression if they can’t sell products, esp. if there is no real difference b/w their products & others Security Oral gratification Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption FC.142C THE HIDDEN PERSUADERS: A SHORT HISTORY OF ADVERTISING a World War II (FC.136) Consumers often couldn’t distinguish their “favorite” products from others in blind tests People buy on basis of subconscious fears, prejudices, etc. & unconscious feelings Marshall Plan to revive Eur. Mkt’s (FC.138) Marshall Plan to revive Eur. Mkt’s (FC.138) Sex appeal: (e.g., fountain pens w/sleek bodies, beer, cigars, cigarettes, cars, & men’s adventure mags) Creative outlets: (e.g., Instant cake mixes where you add the egg & milk) Reassurance of worth: (e.g., detergents that give women status of clean homes) Emotional security for problems you never realized you had (e.g.,halitosis) Warm and fuzzy: e.g., using adorable children to sell cars Immortality: e.g., insurance policiesYou can take care of fam. after you die

  25. “This is a complete mix …Just add milk” 1949

  26. Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption US has 60% of world’s ind’sPost-war boomAm’s have all they need Surveys of people’s buying habits that showed: Conformity Madison Ave. hires psych’s who identify & exploit several needs of consumers’ psyches: Use of non-rational techniques (e.g., bright colors & logos) to sell the illusion of: Rest of world is impoverished by war & can’t buy products from US US businesses fear another Depression if they can’t sell products, esp. if there is no real difference b/w their products & others Security Oral gratification Puitan thrift ethic discourages consumption FC.142C THE HIDDEN PERSUADERS: A SHORT HISTORY OF ADVERTISING a World War II (FC.136) Consumers often couldn’t distinguish their “favorite” products from others in blind tests People buy on basis of subconscious fears, prejudices, etc. & unconscious feelings Marshall Plan to revive Eur. Mkt’s (FC.138) Marshall Plan to revive Eur. Mkt’s (FC.138) Sex appeal: (e.g., fountain pens w/sleek bodies, beer, cigars, cigarettes, cars, & men’s adventure mags) Creative outlets: (e.g., Instant cake mixes where you add the egg & milk) Reassurance of worth: (e.g., detergents that give women status of clean homes) Emotional security for problems you never realized you had (e.g.,halitosis) Warm and fuzzy: e.g., using adorable children to sell cars Immortality: e.g., insurance policiesYou can take care of fam. after you die

  27. In addition to being sold to disinfect cuts, Listerine, started in 1879, was also advertised as an antidote to dandruff and athlete’s foot, and as a soother of insect bites. So why not put it in your mouth and gargle? In 1895, Johnson and Johnson started marketing Listerine to dentists, claiming it was “Antiseptic, Prophylactic, Deodorant, Non-Toxic, Non-Irritant, Non-Escharotic, Absolutely Safe, Agreeable, Scientific and Strictly Professional.” Only in small print did they mention it might cure bad breath.

  28. Until 1914, Johnson and Johnson only sold Listerine to the medical community. When they made it available to the general public, they had to generate public interest in the product. So in 1921 they invented the pseudo-scientific term “halitosis”, derived from the Latin word for breath. It sounded real, and also scary, raising bad breath from being a personal nuisance to the status of a major destroyer of people as social beings. 1928

  29. Halitosis girl, 1951 1928

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