The Hidden Persuaders vs. Influencer Marketing
Still, there was the disturbing fact that some of them were being used by the manipulators. Printer's Ink devoted a special feature to the way social scientists "can be used" in merchandising problems. 


One point it made: "Use mostly those social scientists who demonstrate a knowledge and appreciation of business problems. Beware of those who don't. Many can be exceedingly naive and unscientific in their approach to advertising." 


Perhaps the most uncomfortable aspect of the situation for the scientists was stated by an ad executive writing under a pseudonym for The Nation. He said: "Social scientists in the past have paid attention to the irrational patterns of human behavior 


because they wish to locate their social origins and thus be able to suggest changes that would result in more rational conduct. They now study irrationality—and other aspects of human behavior—to gather data that may be used by salesmen to manipulate consumers." 


In their efforts to be cooperative with the persuaders the scientists also showed some tendency to accept assumptions that definitely were dubious. In 1953 a leading advertising researcher concluded that Americans would have to learn to live a third better if they were to keep pace with growing production... 

and permit the United States economy to hit a "$400,000,000,000 gross national product in 1958." (Actually it shot past the $400,000,000,000 mark in 1956.) 


To find how Americans could be persuaded to live a third better Tide put the question to "quite a few of the leading U.S. sociologists." The response of Professor Philip J. Allen, of the University of Virginia, was particularly interesting. He mapped out a "systematic program" by which it could be achieved, and stressed that his scheme would require: Sufficient financial backing for regular utilization of mass media, constantly to communicate the desired objectives to the "common man." New values can be deliberately created, disseminated, and adopted as personal and collective goals highly desirable of achievement. 


But the concerted effort of the major social institutions—particularly the educational, recreational, and religious—must be enlisted with the ready co-operation of those in control of the mass media on the one hand and the large creators of goods and services who buy up time and space for advertising their "wares" 


on the other. . . . By utilizing the various tested devices, our modern genius in advertising may alight upon simple phrases well organized in sequence and timing, and coordinated with other efforts geared to realize the "grand design." But there are required a host of laborers with plenty of financial backing. 


In mapping out his "grand design" for making us all more dutiful consumers he accepted, without any question that I could note, the basic assumption that achieving the one-third-better goal was worth any manipulating that might be necessary to achieve it.