We’ve all heard the saying “breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” But not many people know that the man behind that “wisdom” is, again, Bernays! It all came about because in the 1920s The Beech-Nut Packing Company was struggling to sell one of its most important meat products: bacon. Instead of simply cutting the price, Bernays asked a deeper question: who tells the public what to eat?
Until then, Americans had been eating a light uae mobile database breakfast of coffee, juice, and maybe some toast. Bernays got 5,000 doctors to sign a statement agreeing that a hearty, protein-rich breakfast (e.g., bacon and eggs) was healthier than a light one. The petition was published in newspapers and had a huge impact on American society: from then on, a breakfast that did not include bacon and eggs was considered “poor.” Sales of bacon skyrocketed, and Bernays had accomplished his goal: he created a need that had not previously existed. And, without intending to, he created the famous American breakfast.
real american breakfast
The egg of guilt
World War II saw the rise of instant food preparations. With less time for cooking, the industry began to design formulas of dry ingredients that required only water to make. Instant cake mixes were the first in this field. Despite their convenience, they were not selling. Disappointed and confused by the poor sales, Betty Crocker executives turned to Edward Bernays for help .
Again, Bernays turned to psychology to solve this problem. After conducting a focus group with housewives, he concluded that they felt unconscious guilt for using a product that required so little effort. The answer: give them a greater sense of involvement by requiring them to add an egg to the mix. Sales soared as the symbolic egg worked its way into the collective unconscious and removed the guilt barrier.