The hidden persuaders

What Hacker News says

1. DavidPiperFeb 2025
   "The Hidden Persuaders" by Vance Packard is the only book I've read that has actively given me mental and emotional tools to resist advertising.

   It tells the story - with many deep, detailed examples - of how advertising went from information to persuasion across the mid-1900s, and there are some truly gross moral acts/steps along the way.

   It can be a little dry at times (and some has of course been superseded by Surveillance Capitalism), but if you want to acquire a genuine disgust reflex for modern advertising, I strongly recommend it.

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2. DavidPiperNov 2024
   Ah, thank you for the clarification, I'm interested in reading up.

   Your description reminds me a lot of a book called "The Hidden Persuaders" by Vance Packard, which I recommend as a distinctly uncomfortable read in the same vein.

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3. techerFeb 2022
   Very much enjoyed this, very prescient

   https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Persuaders-Vance-Packard/dp/09...

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4. rmasonJan 2020
   The hidden persuaders by Vance Packard

   I read this book as a kid, it changed how I view the world and I've never forgotten it's lessons. It shows how the ad world is working hard to persuade you. It convinced me to always question what are represented as facts by ads or the media. A healthy skepticism has served me very well.

   Most people never deeply question and Packard is correct that there's an entire industry trying to persuade you. Not just what product to buy but which college to attend or which company to work for and yes even which political candidate to vote. Those very same hidden persuaders, some of the brightest minds in the world, are working on the web still trying to persuade you to click.

   The closest way to bring it to HN world is PG's famous essay The Submarine that talks about recurring themes in the media such as 'suits are coming back'. The public relation professionals planting those stories are also hidden persuaders.

   http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html

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5. UdikFeb 2019
   One that I haven't seen mentioned is "The hidden persuaders" by Vance Packard. It's old and some say it's exaggerated in parts, but some of the mechanisms and tricks explained are everywhere. We swim in a sea of marketing.

   Practical effect: you'll start seeing your favourite cereals as an entirely indistinct product, with a cardboard box around, with coloured print over it which has no connection whatsoever with the content.

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6. sienFeb 2018
   Vance Packard's The Hidden Persuaders from 1957 is well worth a look about how advertising was seen as far back as the 1950s.

   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3730.The_Hidden_Persuade...

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