Originally published in 1957 by McKay and reissued in 1980 by Pocket Books with a new afterword.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 26-27)

1. The depth approach -- [pt. 1.] Persuading us as consumers -- 2. The trouble with people -- 3. So ad men become depth men -- 4. ...and the hooks are lowered -- 5. Self-images for everybody -- 6. RX for our secret distresses -- 7. Marketing eight hidden needs -- 8. The built-in sexual overtone -- 9. Back to the breast, and beyond -- 10. Babes in consumerland -- 11. Class and caste in the salesroom -- 12. Selling symbols to upward strivers -- 13. Cures for our hidden aversions -- 14. Coping with our pesky inner ear -- 15. The psycho-seduction of children -- 16. New frontiers for recruiting customers -- [pt. 2.] Persuading us as citizens -- 17. Politics and the image builders -- 18. Molding "team players" for free enterprise -- 19. The engineered yes -- 20. Care and feeding of positive thinkers -- 21. The packaged soul? -- [pt. 3.] In retrospect -- 22. The question of validity -- 23. The question of morality.

"Originally published in 1957 and now back in print to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary, 'THE HIDDEN PERSUADERS' is Vance Packard's pioneering and prescient work revealing how advertisers use psychological methods to tap into our unconscious desires in order to "persuade" us to buy the products they are selling.
A classic examination of how our thoughts and feelings are manipulated by business, media and politicians, 'THE HIDDEN PERSUADERS' was the first book to expose the hidden world of "motivation research," the psychological technique that advertisers use to probe our minds in order to control our actions as consumers. Through analysis of products, political campaigns and television programs of the 1950s, Packard shows how the insidious manipulation practices that have come to dominate today's corporate-driven world began." -- Back cover