ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Edward Bernays

Edward Bernays was a man who lived a long time ago and was very good at making people want to do things or buy things. He was like a magician who used special tricks to make lots of people think and act a certain way.

He knew that people wanted to feel good about themselves, so he figured out how to use things like advertising, news stories, and even celebrities to make people feel like they needed to have certain things or do certain things in order to be happy or successful.

For example, he helped a company that made bacon to convince everyone that it was the perfect breakfast food, even though people used to think of it as just a side dish. He also helped a company that made cigarettes to make women feel like smoking was a symbol of freedom and independence, which was a big deal back then.

Bernays was very good at what he did, but some people didn't like the way he manipulated people's thoughts and feelings. They thought he was kind of sneaky and that he was just trying to make money for himself and his clients.

So in short, Edward Bernays was a clever man who knew how to make people want things they didn't even know they wanted. He used his skills to help companies sell more products, but some people thought he was kind of shady for doing it.