Media & Communication · Advertising & Public Relations
A topic within Advertising & Public Relations, itself one of 9 topics in that field and part of Media & Communication.
No prior grounding assumed.
Scientific Advertising
Claude Hopkins · 1923
Argues advertising should be judged solely by whether it sells, not by whether it is admired, and that every claim and layout choice should be tested…
+1 more at this level
Assumes you know the vocabulary.
Propaganda
Edward Bernays · 1928
The founder of public relations arguing openly that manufacturing consent is necessary in a democracy — the field's most candid document.
3 works
Claude Hopkins
Argues advertising should be judged solely by whether it sells, not by whether it is admired, and that every claim and layout choice should be tested against results the way a salesman tests a pitch.
link checked 17 Sept 2026Zeynep Tufekci (TED)
Argues that advertising-funded machine learning builds persuasion architectures nobody designed and nobody can inspect, because the systems optimise for attention without anyone specifying how.
link checked 17 Sept 2026Edward Bernays
The founder of public relations arguing openly that manufacturing consent is necessary in a democracy — the field's most candid document.
link checked 17 Sept 2026