The Super Event of Influence: How We’re Being Played
It’s Super Bowl Sunday—the biggest stage for advertising, influence, and persuasion. But the real game isn’t just on the field. While teams battle for the trophy, another high-stakes match is happening behind the scenes—one where the real winners are those who control public perception.
Edward Bernays (public relations and propaganda GOAT), wrote the ultimate playbook decades ago for the government. Today, his strategies are used by politicians, corporations, and influencers to shape the way we think, feel, and act. Media manipulation is a sport of it’s own.
Let’s break down the Top 5 Plays in the Influence Playbook happening right now:
1. The Fear & Control Play (Crisis Manipulation)
“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society.”
Big plays happen in moments of crisis. Governments and corporations use fear and uncertainty to justify policies and actions that might otherwise be unpopular. Just like a surprise blitz on the field, the public reacts instinctively—often without questioning the play.
🔹 Example: From post-9/11 surveillance laws to pandemic mandates, crisis moments create the perfect conditions for shaping public behavior.
2. The Emotional Blitz (Feelings Over Facts)
“Business realized they could sell far more if they appealed to emotions rather than to logic, to unconscious desires rather than to conscious thinking.”
The best quarterbacks know how to fake out the defense. The same happens in advertising and politics—appealing to emotions instead of reason. Fear, hope, and anger drive decisions more than facts ever could.
🔹 Example: Political ads focus on threats and identity rather than policy details—because feelings win votes, not facts.
3. The Crowd Control Play (Social Media Stampede)
“If we understand the mechanism and motives of the group mind, it is now possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without them knowing it.”
Ever notice how fans in a stadium chant in unison? That’s how mass psychology works. Social media algorithms fuel echo chambers, making people follow trends and adopt beliefs without realizing they’re being led.
🔹 Example: Hashtag movements, viral outrage, and media narratives all create a self-reinforcing cycle, making dissent nearly impossible.
4. The Hidden Playmakers (Invisible Influencers)
“We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of.”
Every team has a coaching staff you don’t see on the field, calling the shots from behind the scenes. The same happens in media and politics—public opinion is shaped by PR strategists, think tanks, and corporate sponsors operating in the shadows.
🔹 Example: “Organic” grassroots movements and celebrity endorsements are often bankrolled and guided by hidden power players.
5. The Entertainment Diversion (Keeping Fans Distracted)
“The significant revolution of modern times is not industrial or economic, but the revolution in the technique of persuasion.”
Halftime shows, commercials, and social media keep fans entertained while the real power plays happen off-screen. Consumer culture keeps the public focused on materialism rather than systemic issues—just like a stadium full of fans too busy cheering to notice the owners making backroom deals.
🔹 Example: Influencer culture, luxury branding, and the 24/7 entertainment cycle ensure people stay passive and disengaged from larger societal power struggles.
Legendary Stats and Starts
Bernays did apply his PR techniques to promote large-scale events and industries, which likely influenced the way modern sports marketing developed.
For example:
His principles of creating emotional connections and leveraging group psychology are now widely used in sports advertising, fan engagement, and Super Bowl marketing.
Edward Bernays worked for the U.S. government at different points in his career.
He helped popularize bacon and eggs as an American breakfast through marketing tactics, showing his ability to shape public habits.
He worked for the American Tobacco Company, using public campaigns to influence social behavior.
- During World War I, he worked for the Committee on Public Information (CPI), also known as the Creel Committee, which was responsible for promoting U.S. involvement in the war through propaganda. Bernays helped develop messaging that framed the war as a fight for democracy, using mass media to influence public opinion.
- During the Cold War, his PR firm worked on projects that aligned with U.S. government interests, including shaping public perception about American foreign policy. He was involved in campaigns to promote democracy and capitalism over communism.
- He indirectly influenced U.S. foreign policy, most notably in the 1954 CIA-backed coup in Guatemala, where he worked for the United Fruit Company (now Chiquita). His efforts helped justify U.S. intervention by framing the democratically elected Guatemalan government as a communist threat.
Edward Bernays also notably shared the same maternal grandparents with his uncle Sigmund Freud.
Edward Bernays and Propaganda:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bernays
Influence and Public Relations:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edward-Bernays
How Bernays Shaped Modern Media:
https://www.prmuseum.org/bernays
The Engineering of Consent (Bernays’ Work):
https://archive.org/details/bernaysengineering
Final Score? The House Always Wins!
Bernays’ playbook is still in source of understanding group influence in culture today. Whether it’s political campaigns, crisis management, or consumer culture, those who understand these players control the field.
So while you’re watching the Super Bowl tonight, ask yourself: Who’s really winning the game of influence? Awareness is the first step to breaking free from the playbook.
🔥 What do you think? Drop your thoughts below—just remember, the refs might be watching. 😉
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