PR Campaigns That Changed the World

As PR professionals, we all have our favorite social media channel, our favorite buzz words and of course, our favorite PR campaigns. Personal favorites of mine include (as an avid Philly-lover) GPTMC's With Love, Philadelphia XOXO campaign, giving tourists and locals reasons to love the boisterous city of brotherly love and of course, all of Coca Cola's campaigns that give me warm fuzzy feelings.

However, I found an article written by Mickie Kennedy, founder of eReleases, who blogged about the 5 PR Campaigns that changed the world:

1. Keep America Beautiful

Started in 1953, everyone has seen countless parodies and homages paid to the campaign. Who knows where our "green" movement would be today without it!

2. Smokey The Bear

Created during WWII, this campaign urged nature lovers to be safe with their campfires and matches in order to preserve our forests. According to the Ad Council, Smokey the Bear is recognized by 95% of adults and 77% of children in the U.S.!

3. Ivy Lee

When a train crashed into the waters of Atlantic City, killing 53 people in 1906, Ivy Lee put out what is considered to be the world’s first press release. He persuaded the operating company of the train, the Pennsylvania Railroad, to disclose the facts of the case before anyone else did. This is now standard operating procedure for practically every company in the world.

4. Bacon and Eggs

Did you know that bacon and eggs weren’t always the quintessential breakfast foods? It wasn’t until the 1920s and Sigmund Freud’s nephew, Edward Bernays, was tasked with selling the foods to the public. He put together a survey of doctors where they detailed the benefits of bacon and eggs for breakfast. This survey was used to convince…more doctors! They in turn recommended it to their patients. If you’ve ever seen a commercial that claimed “6 out of 7 doctors approve,” you have Bernays to thank.

5. I <3 NY

Hey, we all love New York City, right? But we didn’t all love it until the 1970s when Milton Glaser designed the famous logo that’s all over t-shirts everywhere. The Big Apple was actually on a downslide into poverty before the campaign was designed, and the simple little logo is credited with keeping the city from totally going under. In fact, it’s often cited as being one of the most efficient repositioning campaigns of all time!

Do you agree with the PR campaigns listed here? Do you think there are other campaigns that should have been included instead? Let us know what you think!