and The Birth of the Public Relations Industry

Edward Bernays was a nephew of Sigmund Freud;
and, early in the 20th century, he used his uncle's
new discoveries to shape the opinions, desires and
buying habits of the American public

in The Century of the Self, documentary maker
Adam Curtis says this of Bernays,

Bernays is almost completely unknown today, but
his influence on the 20th century was nearly as great
as his uncle's.

the video below, from The Century of the Self,
introduces Bernays and recounts one of his first
"successes" in shaping society's behavior -

persuading women to defy social convention and
take up cigarette smoking