As of tomorrow, you can stream it online, or if you’re in my ‘hood you can view it on PBS this coming Saturday, November 13^th at 11:00 pm. It’s a Frontline piece called The Persuaders. The PBS website bills it as “What’s going on in the world of today’s marketers and advertisers? What are the new and surprising methods they’re using to decipher who we are and what we want? And, where is this taking us?”
The site is also a great supplement to the episode with analysis, discussion, interviews, a chat with the Producer, Teacher’s Guide, links & readings and much more. In fact by the time you read this, you should be able to stream the whole episode right from the site.
I have yet to see The Persuaders but I am anxiously looking forward to it.
Here’s another description of the Episode from their site:
“Frontline takes an in-depth look at the multibillion-dollar ‘persuasion industries’ of advertising and public relations and how marketers have developed new ways of integrating their messages deeper into the fabric of our lives. Through sophisticated market research methods to better understand consumers and by turning to the little-understood techniques of public relations to make sure their messages come from sources we trust, marketers are crafting messages that resonate with an increasingly cynical public. In this documentary essay, correspondent Douglas Rushkoff (correspondent for Frontline’s ‘The Merchants of Cool’) also explores how the culture of marketing has come to shape the way Americans understand the world and themselves and how the techniques of the persuasion industries have migrated to politics, shaping the way our leaders formulate policy, influence public opinion, make decisions, and stay in power.”
Wow stuff. Thanks Rob!