The first time I came across the concept of marketing was in my introductory psychology class. We were studying psychoanalysis in the center of which lied Freudian ideas on unconscious irrational drives. One of the examples of a real-life application of Freud’s theories that we studied was the American Tobacco Company’s advertising campaign in the 1920s.

This period was marked by a tremendous success of the suffragist movement, when women who had just won the right to vote started to attend colleges and entered workforce in larger numbers. However, they did not yet achieve absolute social equality with men, and certain restrictions applied to women smoking in public. It was a taboo for women to smoke outside of their homes; they could be even arrested for lighting a cigarette on the street .

Tobacco producers were not going to put up with these rules. The president of the American Tobacco Company believed that cigarettes sales would soar if he could convince women to start smoking in public. He hired Edward Bernays, a “public relations counsel”, who, in consultation with a psychoanalyst, found a way to take advantage of the suffragist movement to change public’s opinion on smoking.

Dr. Brill concluded that cigarettes, which were equated in people’s minds with men, represented torches of freedom for women. This expression appeared on the pages of national newspapers, and produced the desired long-lasting effect on women smoking.

http://www.prmuseum.com/bernays/bernays_1929.html

I was appalled when I heard this story. While I may not able to give a scientific explanation for this effect, I do understand how it looks to people who are not familiar with the actual definition of marketing. Marketing is not a manipulation of people’s minds. It is a relationship between buyers and suppliers. Consumers have choice and information. Producers have to understand the needs of their consumers and create products that consumers value. That sounds ethical, don’t you think?