Edward Bernays on Letterman, April 4, 1985

By request.

[@Opabocfsh]

"People will believe me more if you call me a doctor"

[@vusalaliyev5001]

fascinating

[@AL_THOMAS_777]

Thats exactly why titles are worth millions and can be bought !

[@kingmj87]

Old man was witty as hell. Still, it's disgusting what he supported in Guatemala, even after turning down so many other dictators.

[@muziklvr7776]

This was the guy who helped the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) and other special interest groups to convince the American public that water fluoridation was safe and beneficial to human health. This was achieved by using the American Dental Association in a highly successful media campaign.

[@fredachase5193]

Thus the people of the USA are so incredibly dumbed down

[@GaryG63]

One of many from Bernays ideas

[@SaintSoldier84]

Most people don't know that Netflix Cofounder Marc Bernays Randolph is his great nephew. The propaganda lineage is alive and well.

[@I_Am__No___One]

That and every other thing you have ever believed in, desired, or dreamed of.

[@EarlyAndLate]

I have a portrait tattoo of Bernays on my shoulder that says put the Pro in Propaganda

[@adamhanna1452]

Notice the no smoking sign when he first walks out, Ironic.

[@TheJonnyEnglish]

Fantastic catch.

[@AL_THOMAS_777]

😁

[@imkharn]

The opening of his book: "The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Our invisible governors are, in many cases, unaware of the identity of their fellow members in the inner cabinet."

[@raigervasi2070]

in the uk we have a department of the government called the behavioral insights team. their job is the psychologically "nudge" people into certain behaviours.

[@Dont_tell_me_to_relax]

@@raigervasi2070 sounds like fascism

[@alessahdro]

It's incredible how the words "manipulation" and "democratic" stay in the same sentence. From excess laughter I think Mr. Letterman and the audience aren't aware of what this man did, and who used his services and applied his theory. They say Goebbles had a copy of his book "Propaganda" on his night stand.

[@Dkthearn]

Beautiful he literally tells you himself

[@Dkthearn]

In fun fact everyone has the ability to draw it's literally just if you can get your mind to believe what your eyes see which is interesting

[@bradmacarthur3810]

Wow. I can't believe Edward Bernays was on Letterman.

[@vdotme]

I am wondering why he did it.

[@SkateAwayTheDay]

Vim de Zim his entire life was about PR

[@wakenow7612]

Edward bernay's great nephew, Marc Randolph bernays invented Netflix. More propaganda.

[@donaldquirk7801]

@@wakenow7612 Crazy how brainwashed we all are. I wonder if Bernays had a hand in what was being programmed on Letterman?

[@parkforest434]

You don’t have to be Jewish to be a Zionist!

[@docgray5004]

I feel like the people laughing at 3:19 thought that Freud being his uncle was a joke.

[@GaryG63]

There are some enlightened people after all

[@wakenow7612]

@Johnny Xander yup Marc Randolph Bernays. Really Sums up cuties now doesn't it?

[@wakenow7612]

@Johnny Xander I know people who cancelled Netflix after that, and I also know people who are seeing the hypersexual children's programing on there. LgBLT agendas for kids. All bernays.

[@wakenow7612]

@Johnny Xander down for a chat sometime?

[@pitchforkpeasant6219]

@@wakenow7612 ive spent over 30 years studying bernays and the like and over fourty studying propaganda and establishment of belief systems. Question what you believe. Seriously

[@UnnLykley]

laughs as he gets interrupted by commercial is hilarious for many reasons

[@divingduck1970]

If you haven't seen "Century of the Self," do it now.

[@divingduck1970]

@@MichelSarmento I heard some of it on the radio, and you're 100% correct, it's all theater.

[@HesGay]

Century of Self....Great video. Learning about Public Relations changes your life and worldview, no doubt.

[@Misssie1]

I second this

[@Themultimediaguy]

That's what brought me here. Fascinating to see this.

[@davideldred.campingwilder6481]

Cheers, mate. I was looking for that and couldnt remember the title...

[@_cm3]

funny that he was cut off by a commercial

[@AL_THOMAS_777]

What ELSE . . .

[@ronbridges3933]

The man is 93 and Letterman wants him to come back at another time.

[@Petrovftd]

To be fair, he lived until 104!

[@edeliteedelite1961]

@@Petrovftd they all live unnaturally long

[@Petrovftd]

@@edeliteedelite1961 they?

[@edeliteedelite1961]

@@Petrovftd yes.

[@JayTX.]

@@Petrovftd elitist trash

[@DeadBeatShitHead]

“I don’t use the word image ,image is a shadow “

[@jsrecords2023]

My professor played this in our Media & Society class today.

[@johnpick8336]

The Father of Propaganda as in his famous book by that name. Thank you for posting.

[@b.g.tercero2351]

THANK YOU. I've looked for this multiple times, most recently right before you uploade it. I can't believe it's not "lost"! I already have my copy before watching it!

[@jhall2281]

Clearly the Mr. Burns character was created after him.

[@SuntechPowerEurope]

This is one of my all time favorite clips. If you think of it that Bernays was born 1891 and talks about his work in the 1920s that is fascinating.

[@gabrielle-d1b]

An evil man

[@tlatosmd]

Born when Bismarck had just been dismissed, died under President Bill Clinton. That's quite some longevity there!

[@wakenow7612]

What a piece of garbage. His nephew Marc Randolph Bernays who invented Netflix is a piece of garbage as well. Netflix is also garbage just like the propagandists who made it.

[@TheJonnyEnglish]

Bro do you know absolutely anything about this man?

[@SuntechPowerEurope]

@@TheJonnyEnglish I know quite a lot about his life. I know what he did to promote horrible causes. PR professionals are like attorneys, they can work for good causes and bad causes, some of his techniques today are used by labor unions, non profit organizations, grass roots organizers, NGOs etc.

[@Ryan-on5on]

Mr. Bernays has got to be the one guest of Dave's who can say, in all earnestness, that he worked for the Woodrow Wilson Administration!

[@alexrichter1362]

In other words: Why you shouldn't trust your feelings.

[@krunkle5136]

The genius who made smoking cigarettes fashionable for women by phrasing them as "Torches of Freedom".

[@joeharris3297]

Wow, I have never seen a 94 year old that sharp. Stood out to me more than anything in the interview. I’ve dealt with a lot of old people and havent met anyone over 80 who was that sharp

[@christopherlee9184]

G Edward Griffin is 91 and still pretty sharp

[@ephlis01]

These kind of videos are why this remains my favorite You Tube channel. As a life-long Letterman fan, I am so grateful that you make the effort to properly curate this incredible archive of a brilliant career and in an increasingly maddening world, this is my place to clear my head and remember a time when television was much smarter than it is now. While I love the clips of famous celebrities, it's the oddball guests that bring the biggest smile to my face when they are uploaded. Keep up the good work. You are appreciated.

[@dongiller]

Very much appreciated. Thanks!

[@britt4437]

@Thereis Hope I never heard of Edward Bernays until this Letterman show. I was very impressed by the way he thinks! He clearly thought out all the steps that had to be done in order to influence the thinking of the American public. He did this by understanding people's thought processes. He understood emotions and how that affects motivations, thoughts, beliefs and behaviors. He was a genius! His uncle was Freud. It doesn't surprise me that he analyzed people's emotions, thoughts, beliefs and behaviors. I enjoyed the story about how he came up with an idea that boosted sales in Ivory soap. Making soap fun for kids by having a soap sculpting contest with sculpting artists as judges changed the negative feelings that children had about soap getting in their eyes and stinging, making them not want to use soap on their face. That was brilliant! It worked and he knew it would! He even said the Dow Jones records proves that sales of Ivory soap went up after that. I also enjoyed his story about how he improved the reputation of President Coolidge when running for office. He had to make Coolidge seem like a likable man. The commercial of Coolidge being interrupted during breakfast with a bunch of "ecstatic dancers and 40 others" and saying "I'm busy!" changed people's opinions about him. Now they respected him and liked him. It worked! It was a simple idea that changed his reputation and helped Coolidge win the election! What a genius!!! His ideas seemed to come naturally to him as a brilliant man with good thinking ability and not from higher education. Thanks for that video! I appreciated it!

[@britt4437]

@@dongiller I really appreciate this video you made. It was very interesting and I enjoyed it! Thank you!

[@waslaughing]

@@britt4437 You're impressed by the way he thinks? Are you insane? Who thinks like Edward unless 1) they want absolute power and 2) they literally hate people?

[@AskAlice112]

Great comment. How influential his "Nudge" has become.... The sad part is that there are more Woke people these days than there are AWAKE!

[@小雪はなこ]

mr. corb, if you should see this, thank you soo much!! your work is awesome! have a great day and much success on your and our way! thank you also to the person who has uploaded this!

[@faisalsyahreza4377]

his uncle is freud, is nephew is netflix co-founder, his grand nephew is freud comm's founder

[@scurtij]

Don, thank you! That is an incredible segment. I knew nothing about Bernays and loved every minute of it. You are the best!

[@josephhughes7247]

Wow, Letterman cut him off before Dr. Bernays got into the dynamics of marketing. He mentioned that people were had been condition against using soap and he changed their conditioning by having a soap sculpting contest.

[@josephhughes7247]

@@britt4437 Dr. Bernays wrote a book in 1920's called Propaganda. It's only 129 pages but detailed.

[@britt4437]

@@josephhughes7247 Okay, thank you. Where can I find it online?

[@josephhughes7247]

@@britt4437 I would do a google search for it. I'm still old school, I got mine at a small book store in San Jose.

[@tone.rec_5557]

@@britt4437 if you think Bernays was a good man, I recomend watching Adam Curtis - Century of the self. I assure you he was not a good person. He changed the world in a very negative way.

[@ad2181]

This is the guy that influenced women to smoke.

[@noochinator]

Learned of him through the Adam Curtis documentary 'Century of the Self'

[@moncorp1]

Its easy to dismiss this segment, but know that this guy basically invented public relations. His story is fascinating. He changed the breakfast foods we eat, made women smoking in public acceptable to sell more cigarettes, got disposable Dixie cups accepted and used by correlating unwashed drinking glasses with communicable disease like VD and on and on.

[@winonafrog]

what a hero 😒

[@seanpatrick7019]

A master of the Talmud.

[@mightyea]

He sold us on Spreading Democracy around the world.

[@wakenow7612]

Bernays tricked everyone into eating bacon and eggs for breakfast when the jchews don't even eat pork, what a sick twisted joke in itself

[@Wuub1e]

thank you for this obscure gem

[@jlall4467]

Speaking of gems, remember 3 months of our salary should go towards an engagement ring

[@ziggystardust911]

@ Don Giller... ..I was beginning to look through your collection again, searching for something I hadnt seen in awhile... ..I glanced down at the second-most-recent upload (Eddie Van Halen), and I noticed it'd already reached over 600, 000 views....in just six days ! ..so, I got curious as to whether any of your videos had crossed the coveted Million mark... ..to my surprise, the first collection of Meg Parsont was over one million viewers....yet, the first collection of sweet, funny, lovable, adorable, popular ("..and one fabulous babe...") Teri Garr was nowhere near one million..??! ..I glanced through more of your videos and found others which had been watched by at least a million viewers, including Sonny and Cher, Trump, Eddie Murphy, Kaufman, and Jim Carrey... ..since you have all your information (and I dont), could you make a list of your 'Hall of Famers'....those videos which have been seen by at least a million viewers..??! ..I'm curious as to who's 'in'; those who will eventually make it (such as Eddie Van Halen); and those who havent made it yet (but should have), such as Teri Garr..!?? 🤔

[@dongiller]

I plan to do something like that when the channel reaches 100 million views, which is projected in around a month. The most-watched upload so far is Jim Carrey’s first LN appearance (a stand-up) from July 25, 1984 with 7,225,422 views.

[@britt4437]

@@dongiller I can't wait! I'm going to subscribe now and get notifications so I don't miss out.

[@timmcleaners1987]

"children love soap". ~Bernays

[@winonafrog]

Just more legendary Don Giller footage…

[@jordanrioscreations]

One of those silent figures in history that made a huge impact in many ways

[@iamhere444]

what happenes to his face expression on 6:49 ?

[@activeoneaudio7792]

The father of PR was interrupted for a commercial :D

[@filmjazz]

Someone watched an Adam Curtis doc then requested this. Safe bet!

[@dongiller]

I had uploaded this three years but as Unlisted. Then began getting occasional requests for it, so I just now made it Public.

[@filmjazz]

Don Giller you are my hero with this channel, so thank you thank you thank you! Adam Curtis discusses Bernays in one of his documentaries, although I forget which one. Might be The Century of Self.

[@brandenrobinson9411]

Or was reading Noam Chomsky...

[@dbg1234]

I just finished watching Century of the Self today - what a coincidence!

[@account_null]

@@dongiller Many thanks! Is it full version? Or there is longer one?

[@huizdeeze1075]

torches of freedom

[@GaryG63]

Exactly

[@otrdriverchris]

I've heard this man is to be reviled, but why?

[@RealKuty]

It looks one man came for Edward Bernays. Who is James Corbett?

[@liamsparling]

🤌🤌🤌

[@emmadezwaan]

How ironic Bernays was interrupted by commercials.

[@cygnustsp]

I want to be this guy in, holy shit, it's only 45 years

[@yasminerivera9151]

What this man did is NOTHING to be proud of,

[@saadtazili8953]

You want to be this guy?!? WOW!!

[@Dont_tell_me_to_relax]

Such a silver tongue lulling you into his control, right up into old age. Never lost his talent for manipulation...

[@VashTheDamnFiend]

@@Dont_tell_me_to_relax yup

[@MatthewCaruso-ky4uz]

I gotta say, I oddly respect this demon

[@winonafrog]

Few can claim to have done more to corrupt ruin and demoralize society but he’s definitely a good interview, the little grifter 😅

[@dunexapa1016]

*THE* most influential man in American history ... and now only just more than 23,000 views? Search KZbin for 'cute make-up tutorial' and there will be many such videos with millions of views.

[@wakenow7612]

Influencial? More like indoctrination and brain washing. Dude was a huge scumbag.

[@dunexapa1016]

@@wakenow7612 , Influencial? No Influential - Yes ... Difference I hope you do not vote. BTW, indoctrinating and brainwashing people *IS* influencing people ... whether you are aware you are being indoctrinated or brainwashed or not or regardless of who is doing the indoctrination or brainwashing.

[@wakenow7612]

@@dunexapa1016 except knowing about the manipulation techniques and using cognitive and critical thinking and propagandist extraction techniques inevitably helps avoid this fake influence. Voting lol. What does a false political paradigm have to do with your ineptitude?

[@dunexapa1016]

@@wakenow7612 , Yeah, except when you *LEARN* about manipulation techniques and propaganda techniques you usually learn who are the *MASTERS* in employing these techniques *AND* when you do not learn who are the masters you are usually pretty ignorant of the techniques. You did know who Bernays was and what he was famous for I presume ... Sooooo, ... you don't engage in this fake paradigm then? Well, ... good ...

[@wakenow7612]

@@dunexapa1016 I know who the Masters are, I'm part of them. That's why I know about this stuff. The hilarious joke of it all is that Bernays got people to eat bacon and eggs for breakfast... absolutely hilarious 😂😂😂 we, your masters, don't even eat pork! Jokes on you buddy.

[@timfeleppa3156]

Thanks Don

[@tobyradenbaugh8965]

Only the good die young

[@winonafrog]

😅😅😅 thanks for a good laugh

[@rafail3]

Thanks for the upload. Mr. Bernays wasn't that shadowy then, as Curtis wanted to present him. A very sharp mind at 94, no wonder he was so successful.

[@fredachase5193]

Oh he was a manipulator...this makes him incredibly shady!!!

[@saadtazili8953]

So successful? A man responsible of killing millions of people is successful?

[@Dont_tell_me_to_relax]

Bastardizing psychoanalysis to create an elite social class that exerts power over the general population, I guess you could say he was "sharp"!

[@ThisNinjaSays_]

Tell that to the Guatemala people.

[@the.mylooo]

Why he said I don't use the word "image" but I use reputation ?

[@AntonioDrakeTV]

... is it just me, or was Letterman a little dismissive with this one? Lol... his energy was just sorta like 'blahhhh haha... we'll get to ya later'.

[@INTERNATIONALvids]

It definitely seemed letterman was dismissive.... Or jealous or something... He was talking to a legend that influenced everyday lives for hundreds millions of people even today. I don't agree with everything Bernays did, but the guy is a legend.

[@jonathanhouser6310]

Oh yea totally. That’s sort of his thing though. But this man probably singlehandedly made consumerism what it is today.

[@LilAligator]

maybe he didnt want to give him much room to talk you know. Could have said some things.

[@rb5519]

What brought me here was a KZbin called "A Brief History Of The Man Who Brainwashed America: Edward Bernays" from the "A Day in History " channel.

[@jadedone6900]

I'm watching this and can't help but be charmed by this man... even though he is the cause for such so much of our current bad spending habits by figuring out ways to manipulate human nature and use it for corporate profit.

[@JF-cd5hc]

Psychopaths are often very charming and personable.

[@lucianofigueiredo4877]

Nostalgia lendario doutor

[@naorifred3121]

You need only one minute to know his genuis

[@donaldquirk7801]

Interesting how the audience thought S. Freud being his uncle was a joke.

[@TheManWithNoInsides]

corbettreport.com sent me here

[@ziggystardust911]

..the Letterman staff should've had this guy on when he was much younger (maybe when he was 70 or 80)....and, they should've had him as a regular guest ! ..or, even devote 30 minutes to him at a time ! ..just imagine the wonderful, fascinating stories he could tell..! 🤣😂🤣😂 thanks for posting this, Don ! 😉

[@dongiller]

Bernays turned 70 in 1961, 80 in 1971. Late Night debuted in 1982. Ergo...

[@pahwraith]

Johnny carson should have done it. Lol.

[@pattytaylor9383]

Stories he could tell about manipulating people? No thanks.

[@charlesodonnell2993]

He is the man....

[@b.g.tercero2351]

Hey 94 year old sitting in a television studio with state of the art equipment recording our conversation, why don't you come back another time so we can continue recording this conversation. Next time you won't get bumped by Mr. T.

[@TheAnimeist]

This guy's schtick is to display a stunt where everyone accepts whatever is being sold. It works on the gullible. Sadly there are too many that are gullible.

[@winonafrog]

And he helped keep them that way

[@fatmanfromtheholler7467]

Sigmund Freuds nephew so amazing

[@GaryG63]

What a wasted opportunity to interview a man who has impacted the world in so many ways…

[@harryfire411]

Smoking is glamorous

[@INTERNATIONALvids]

Smoking is gross .. But Edward Bernays convinced the masses that smoking is glamorous. He didn't smoke and often tried convincing his wife to stop smoking

[@ms.matinian1072]

@@INTERNATIONALvids at the same time telling his wife and family to NOT smoke. Evidence at the time pointed to the ill effects and harm of cigarettes. Evil

[@b.g.tercero2351]

Weened on a pickle.

[@collegeman1988]

When it comes to advertising, Edward Bernays would make Don Draper green with envy on how to effectively advertise to the public.

[@its_not_it_apostrophe_s]

This interview really reminds me of a Bob and Ray sketch.

[@MyHelpWanted]

2 legends.

[@gabrielle-d1b]

You are the result of his propaganda

[@MyHelpWanted]

@@gabrielle-d1b you are the result of a test tube.

[@NoOne-fe8tr]

Do u now the dark history of this man?

[@GaryG63]

Yes indeed they are products of Freud’s discovery (the egoic mind) and Americans exploiting it …

[@wakenow7612]

Enjoy your torches of freedom, have fun with your bacon and eggs, and don't forget so sit in front of the Marc Randolph Bernays invention we call netflix and never leave!

[@kaleidojess]

Those who know the history, I don't think we should demonize him, he's also a result of his upbringing. There's a history of abuse in his family. Not to mention how useful the information he provided in psychology is, the industries and government might use it against the public but just imagine if it was used for good. It's a double edge sword.

[@X66966]

True, I believe that if we all read his books we can have a better understanding of how the world (the matrix) really works.

[@kaleidojess]

@@X66966 That's a good point

[@nl396]

That doesn't absolve him of all the harm and evil he commited, Bernays deserves to be seen as a monster.

[@jadedone6900]

He knew what he was doing. He did it on purpose for money. Sounds pretty evil to me.

[@winonafrog]

Many are abused and decide to be Good, not manipulative little devils like Doc Bernays