Vance Oakley Packard (May 22, 1914 – December 12, 1996) was an American journalist and
social critic
Social criticism is a form of academic or journalistic criticism focusing on social issues in contemporary society, in particular with respect to perceived injustices and power relations in general.
Social criticism of the Enlightenment
The or ...
. He was the author of several books, including ''The Hidden Persuaders'' and ''
The Naked Society''. He was a critic of
consumerism
Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. With the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the 20th century, mass production led to overproduction—the ...
.
Early life
Vance Packard was born on May 22, 1914, in
Granville Summit, Pennsylvania, to Philip J. Packard and Mabel Case Packard.
Between 1920 and 1932, he attended local public schools in
State College, Pennsylvania
State College is a home rule municipality in Centre County in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is a college town, dominated economically, culturally and demographically by the presence of the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania ...
, where his father managed a
dairy farm
Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history that ...
owned by the
Pennsylvania State College (later Penn State University).
He identified himself as a "farm boy" throughout his life, although he moved to State College and in later life lived in affluent areas. In 1932, he entered
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State becam ...
, where he earned a B.A. degree, majoring in English. He graduated in 1936, and worked briefly for the local newspaper, the ''
Centre Daily Times
The ''Centre Daily Times'' is a daily newspaper located in State College, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is the hometown newspaper for State College and the Pennsylvania State University, one of the best-known and largest universities in ...
''.
He earned his master's degree at the
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City.
Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism s ...
in 1937.
Career
Packard joined the ''Boston Daily Record'' as a staff reporter in 1937.
He became a reporter for the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...
around 1940, and in 1942, joined the staff of ''
The American Magazine
''The American Magazine'' was a periodical publication founded in June 1906, a continuation of failed publications purchased a few years earlier from publishing mogul Miriam Leslie. It succeeded '' Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly'' (1876–1904) ...
'' as a section editor, later becoming a staff writer.
That periodical closed in July, 1956, and Packard became a writer at ''
Collier's
''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter F. Collier, Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened i ...
''. After its closing by the end of the year, he devoted his full attention to developing book-length projects of his own.
Halfway into the next year, his ''The Hidden Persuaders'' was published to national attention, launching him into a career as a full-time social critic, lecturing and developing further books. He was a critic of
consumerism
Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. With the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the 20th century, mass production led to overproduction—the ...
,
which he viewed as an attack on the traditional
American way of life.
In July 2020, an academic description reported on the nature and rise of the "
robot prosumer
Participatory culture, an opposing concept to consumer culture, is a culture in which private individuals (the public) do not act as consumers only, but also as contributors or producers (prosumers). The term is most often applied to the product ...
", derived from
modern-day technology and related
participatory culture
Participatory culture, an opposing concept to consumer culture, is a culture in which private individuals (the public) do not act as consumers only, but also as contributors or producers ( prosumers). The term is most often applied to the produc ...
, that, in turn, was substantially predicted earlier by
science fiction writers, as well as Packard.
''The Hidden Persuaders''
In ''The Hidden Persuaders'', first published in 1957, Packard explored advertisers' use of consumer motivational research and other psychological techniques, including
depth psychology
Depth psychology (from the German term ''Tiefenpsychologie'') refers to the practice and research of the science of the unconscious, covering both psychoanalysis and psychology. It is also defined as the psychological theory that explores the rel ...
and
subliminal tactics, to
manipulate expectations and induce desire for products, particularly in the American postwar era. He identified eight "compelling needs" that advertisers promise products will fulfill (Emotional Security, Reassurance of worth, Ego gratification, Creative outlets, Love objects, Sense of power, Roots, Immortality).
According to Packard, these needs are so strong that people are compelled to buy products merely to satisfy them. The book also explores the manipulative techniques of promoting politicians to the electorate. Additionally, the book questions the morality of using these techniques.
[Gordon Di Renzo (1958) ''The American Catholic Sociological Review'', Vol. 19, No. 4 (Dec., 1958) (Review)]
While the book was a top-seller among middle-class audiences, it was widely criticised by marketing researchers and advertising executives as carrying a sensationalist tone and containing unsubstantiated assertions.
''The Naked Society''
In his 1964 book called "The Naked Society", Packard criticized advertisers' unfettered use of private information to create marketing schemes. He compared a recent
Great Society
The Great Society was a set of domestic programs in the United States launched by Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964–65. The term was first coined during a 1964 commencement address by President Lyndon B. Johnson at the University ...
initiative by then-president
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
, the
National Data Bank, to the use of information by advertisers and argued for increased
data privacy
Information privacy is the relationship between the collection and dissemination of data, technology, the public expectation of privacy, contextual information norms, and the legal and political issues surrounding them. It is also known as data ...
measures to ensure that information did not find its way into the wrong hands. The essay led
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
to create the
Special Subcommittee on the Invasion of Privacy and inspired privacy advocates such as
Neil Gallagher and
Sam Ervin
Samuel James Ervin Jr. (September 27, 1896April 23, 1985) was an American politician. A Democrat, he served as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina from 1954 to 1974. A native of Morganton, he liked to call himself a "country lawyer", and often to ...
to fight Johnson's flagrant disregard for consumer privacy.
Personal life and death
Packard was married to Virginia Matthews; they had two sons and a daughter.
They resided in
New Canaan, Connecticut
New Canaan () is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,622 according to the 2020 census.
About an hour from Manhattan by train, the town is considered part of Connecticut's Gold Coast. The town is bounde ...
and Martha's Vineyard.
He died in 1996 at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital.
Publications
* 1946 ''How to Pick a Mate'' – a guide co-authored with the head of the Penn State
marriage counseling service
* 1950 ''Animal IQ: The Human Side of Animals'' – a popular paperback on
animal intelligence
Animal cognition encompasses the mental capacities of non-human animals including insect cognition. The study of animal conditioning and learning used in this field was developed from comparative psychology. It has also been strongly influenc ...
* 1957 ''The Hidden Persuaders'' – on the
advertising
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
industry – the first of a popular series of books on sociology topics ()
* 1959 ''The Status Seekers'' – describing American social stratification and behavior
* 1960 ''
The Waste Makers'' – criticizes
planned obsolescence
In economics and industrial design, planned obsolescence (also called built-in obsolescence or premature obsolescence) is a policy of planning or designing a product with an artificially limited useful life or a purposely frail design, so tha ...
describing the impact of American productivity, especially on the national character
* 1960 ''Oh, Happy, Happy, Happy'' – foreword by Vance Packard, with Charles Saxon
* 1962 ''The Pyramid Climbers'' – describes the changing impact of American enterprise on managers, the structured lives of corporate executives and the conformity they need to advance in the hierarchy
* 1964 ''
The Naked Society'' – on the threats to
privacy
Privacy (, ) is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively.
The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security, which can include the concepts of a ...
posed by new technologies such as computerized filing, modern
surveillance techniques and methods for influencing human
behavior
Behavior (American English) or behaviour ( British English) is the range of actions and mannerisms made by individuals, organisms, systems or artificial entities in some environment. These systems can include other systems or organisms as w ...
* 1968 ''The Sexual Wilderness'' – on the
sexual revolution
The sexual revolution, also known as the sexual liberation, was a social movement that challenged traditional codes of behavior related to sexuality and interpersonal relationships throughout the United States and the developed world from the ...
of the 1960s and changes in male-female relationships
* 1972 ''A Nation of Strangers'' – about the attrition of communal structure through frequent geographical transfers of corporate executives
* 1977 ''The People Shapers'' – on the use of psychological & biological testing and experimentation to manipulate human behavior
* 1983 ''Our Endangered Children'' – discusses growing up in a changing world, warning that American preoccupation with money, power, status, and sex ignored the needs of future generations
* 1989 ''
The Ultra Rich: How Much Is Too Much? '' – examines the lives of thirty American multimillionaires and their extravagances
See also
*
History of advertising
The history of advertising can be traced to ancient civilizations. It became a major force in capitalist economies in the mid-19th century, based primarily on newspapers and magazines. In the 20th century, advertising grew rapidly with new technol ...
*
History of marketing
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
*
Marketing research
Marketing research is the systematic gathering, recording, and analysis of qualitative and quantitative data about issues relating to marketing products and services. The goal is to identify and assess how changing elements of the marketing mix i ...
Further reading
The Salon Dec 17, 1996The Hidden Persuader
* Horowitz, D. (2009) Vance Packard and American Social Criticism (University of North Carolina Press Enduring Editions)
*
*
*
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Packard, Vance
Privacy activists
Activists from Connecticut
Activists from Massachusetts
Activists from Pennsylvania
1914 births
1996 deaths
People from Bradford County, Pennsylvania
People from New Canaan, Connecticut
People from Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts
Pennsylvania State University alumni
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni
Advertising theorists
American male journalists
20th-century American journalists
American social commentators
Social critics
20th-century American economists
20th-century American non-fiction writers
20th-century American male writers
Writers from Massachusetts
Writers from Pennsylvania