A lesson in Marketing

    Most people would agree that smoking is bad for health. Studies have shown substantial co-relation of incidences of cancer to smoking and it would require an arrogance of humungous proportions to try and deny this, not to say of the anemic reasons one would have to come up with to do so.

     This post however, does not seek to moralise people, but illustrates how a gentleman managed to sell cigarettes without raising an ounce of inquiry of the people. The gentleman was none other than the father of PR, Edward J Bernays - the nephew of the illustrious Sigmund Freud. Bernays used propaganda, though he took it upon himself to repackage the whole thing as 'Public Relations' for the consumption of the corporate world.

     Some would call him lucky, others would say he was clever - but none can deny him his claim to a mental dexterity not many are bestowed with. He saw opportunity where others saw none. Cigarette sales were taking a hit and big tobacco was struggling to expand their market. It was necessary to find a new market segment and the women populace was seen as fair game by the then President of the American Tobacco Company, George Washington Hill. 

     Women smokers were frowned upon before the twentieth century and many major cities in America introduced laws that effectively prohibited women from smoking. Changing this perception of smoking as an inappropriate act for women was important to break into this segment of customers and though lobbying efforts were carried out, nothing much changed. 

    It was at this time that Edward Bernays was consulted and he brought to the table his PR talent in its full glory. He hired a few women who were not averse to smoking in public and in the Easter Parade of 1929, they were told to march the streets of New York and light up without restraint. Pictures of these women smoking in the parade were taken by photographers hired expressly for the purpose and published the next day in the leading newspapers across the country quoting the cigarettes as 'torches of freedom'. 

     The message was simple : 'Women, you are being repressed. Light up and assert you freedom.' Women yearning for equality saw an opportunity and took to smoking, even if only to challenge the status quo. Advertisements of cigarettes targeting women flooded newspapers and women's share in cigarette sales went up to 12 % in 1929 from 5% in 1923. 

     Bernays' use of the feminism movement to boost cigarette sales is a brilliant example of how PR campaigns can be used. It shows an understanding of how to give value to one's products and still remains as a benchmark for marketing. 

P.S : Bernays would later go on to join the anti-smoking camp after his wife died of lung cancer, largely ascribed to smoking.