The surprising link between political strategy and health policies
American journalist Ruth Hale, who worked for women's rights in New York City, also called on women to join the march, saying, “Women! Light another torch of freedom! Fight another sex taboo!”
By the end of the 19th century, the United States had become a mass industrial society, with cities swarming with residents.
Known today as "the father of public relations," Austrian-born Edward Bernays was working to alter the way members of modern society felt and behaved.
Bernays was a "double nephew" of Viennese psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud by virtue of his father’s sister Martha Bernays Freud, who married Freud.
Brill advised Bernays that if he could figure out a way to convince women that smoking was a way of challenging male power, then they would smoke.
The first wave of feminism had emerged since the end of the 19th century. Its goal was to open up opportunities for women, focusing on the right to vote, which was a hugely relevant factor in the context of Torches of Freedom.
Bernays decided to attempt to eliminate the social taboo against women smoking in public by having a group of women smoke at the annual Easter Sunday Parade in New York in 1929.
Before the parade took place, Bernays also contacted the press, telling them that a group of feminists would protest at the parade by lighting “Torches of Freedom.”
The idea was that anyone who supported women’s rights would also support women’s right to smoke because it was now about freedom.
In the next six years, the amount of tobacco consumed by women went to 18.1%, peaking in 1965 at 33.3%.
However, it is questionable how responsible Torches of Freedom was in getting women to smoke when considering the social movements and broader social context at the time, which were responsible too and which the campaign relied on.
The campaign was successful too because of the phrase’s ability to wield the values that the United States was built on. For example, the word “torch” reminds us of the Statue of Liberty's torch.
In 1923, women only purchased 5% of tobacco products sold. In 1929, that increased to 12%. From here, the door was open for tobacco companies to increase advertising directed at women.
The campaign did prove two things, though: the stigma surrounding women smoking was disintegrating and, because of this, tobacco companies should (and did) increase their efforts to market to women.
Sources: (YourStory)(Tobacco Control)(University of Ottawa)
See also: The best films about women's rights
The story spread far and wide. The campaign was a massive success for Bernays and his client. However, its success was also undoubtedly down to the first wave of feminism and the broader social change.
It’s arguable that women would have started to smoke anyway, and that Torches of Freedom was reactionary and less significant than it's often attributed to being.
Bernays set out to experiment with the minds of consumers. His most dramatic experiment was “Torches of Freedom,” which aimed to persuade women to smoke when women smoking was taboo.
He was particular in picking the women. While he intended them to be good-looking, they were not to look like models. Bernays also hired photographers to have control over the photos that were to be published around the world.
Until the 20th century, cigs were props for the “fallen woman." Female smokers were seen as shameful and disgraceful.
A.A. Brill was one of the first psychoanalysts in the United States, a man responsible for translating Freud’s work into English. Working as a consultant, Brill told Bernays that women didn’t smoke because cigs were a phallic symbol and symbolized male power.
The intention was for people to see women smoking as symbolic of individuality, independence, and power, departing from the old views of women smoking.
Bernays persuaded a group of rich debutantes to attend the parade with cigs hidden underneath their clothes. On Bernays signal, the women were instructed to join the parade and take out the cigs and dramatically start smoking.
Smoking for women was shunned. It was even banned in some states. For example, a law was passed to prohibit women from smoking in public in New York in 1908. A woman who smoked was regarded as dangerously sexual, immoral, and not to be trusted.
While working in Paris, Bernays sent Freud a packet of Havana cigars. In return, Freud sent him back a copy of his book 'A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis.' Bernays read it and became fascinated by the human subconscious’ irrationality, wondering if he could use it to make money.
During World War I, as many women joined the workforce, some started smoking despite the social stigma. Nonetheless, the number of women who smoked was still relatively low.
George Hill, the president of the American Tobacco Company, began directing his marketing efforts toward women in 1927, which was a first.
Hill hired Bernays to make this happen, along with Albert Lasker (pictured) of the Lord & Thomas agency.
One of the most significant marketing campaigns of the 20th century was called the “Torches of Freedom.” It sounds empowering, but it actually exploited the ideas of liberation, power, and equal rights propelled by the first wave of feminism. What is it, and what did it accomplish? Torches of Freedom doubled tobacco sales to women in one year and opened the gates for tobacco marketers to target women in the United States.
To learn about the pivotal moment in the consumption of tobacco by women, click through this gallery.
The day women started smoking
Recalling the "Torches of Freedom"
LIFESTYLE Equality
One of the most significant marketing campaigns of the 20th century was called the “Torches of Freedom.” It sounds empowering, but it actually exploited the ideas of liberation, power, and equal rights propelled by the first wave of feminism. What is it, and what did it accomplish? Torches of Freedom doubled tobacco sales to women in one year and opened the gates for tobacco marketers to target women in the United States.
To learn about the pivotal moment in the consumption of tobacco by women, click through this gallery.