Campaigns: Bernays and the Ballet

One of Bernay’s first projects as a full-time publicist was to promote an American tour of Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes. After conducting what would today be called opinion research, then, unheard of, Bernay’s found that Americans were largely uneducated about ballet (Tye, 1998). "It was left to a twenty-three-year-old agriculture student to sell the Ballet Russe to a country that didn’t care much for European culture, knew and cared even less about Russia, and thought that men had no business on the stage wearing slippers and tights" (p. 11).

Bernays began by developing press releases and publicity packets that connected the ballet to four distinct themes he felt would appeal to American culture: "first, as novelty in art forms, a unifying of arts; second, its appeal to special groups; third, its direct impact on design and color in American products; and fourth, its personalities” (Bernays quoted in prmuseum.com).He used these themes to create articles with names like "World’s Greatest Dancer Walks Broadway Unnoticed," "It’s Safety Pins that Keeps the Ballet Russe Together" and "Are American Men Afraid to be Graceful?" (Tye, 1998). All were accompanied by color photographs and pictures to be run alongside the articles in targeted publications.

For the most part, Bernays' efforts were well received. But when Ladies Home Journal refused to run images because the ballerinas’ skirts were too short, Bernay’s was not deterred He enlisted the help pf two artists who painted over the pictures, altering them to make the skirts longer. He was also able to convince designers to produce clothing inspired by the colors and styles of the ballet. By the time Ballet Russe arrived in the States, public interest was such that a second American tour was already being planned (prmuseum.com). Bernays' was hooked.

"My work as a press agent on Broadway, the entertainment center of the nation was an ideal existence for a young man of twenty-three who had been judging cows in a cattle ring and passing tests in agronomy. I hobnobbed with actors and actresses whose names shone on the marquees; I went backstage whenever I wanted to, had free run of most theaters to catch a glimpse of an act, had the privilege of writing pieces for the press, worked for glamorous newspaper people, and, best of all, I was independent to think and act on my notion that seemed to have merit as a promotional idea. And for this, I received seventy-five dollars a week. Life was one thrill after another."

-- Edward Bernays (in Cutlip, 1994, p. 164).

The Bernays legacy had begun.

_{*both of the above images taken from www.prmuseum.com/home_bernays.html}