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Dichter had arrived in America in 1938, the perfect time for these ideas to take off. The intellectual environment was just opening up to new and unorthodox concepts Freudian psychology was becoming sexy. The idea that there was more to human behaviour than meets the eye was becoming widespread. Freud’s notions of subconscious urges and socialised inhibitions seemed to make intuitive sense. Even Albert Einstein, America’s patron saint of the hard sciences, sought out Freud’s counsel in the run-up to the second world war, praising him for his “critical judgment, earnestness and responsibility”.
Psychoanalysis became particularly popular in post-war America, a time of abundance, conformity and anxiety about being “abnormal”, observes Lawrence Samuel, author of “Freud on Madison Avenue”. Nothing makes people more neurotic than the expectation that they should be enjoying themselves.
For advertisers, argues Mr Samuel, Freud was a “godsend”. When goods were scarce and people bought what they could get, it was hardly necessary to understand consumer psychology. But in an age of prosperity, when supply outstripped demand and countless indistinguishable goods were competing for buyers, companies had to rely more heavily on branding and advertising. There was a clear need to improve upon existing campaigns, which often simply announced the benefits of a product with grand promises and sparkling smiles (for example a print ad from 1925 for Johnson’s Liquid Wax: “This New Easy Way to have Beautiful Waxed Floors”).

A. 어휘
take off 跳躍(도약)하다, 날다. unorthodox 正統(정통)이 아닌, 異端(이단)의.
concepts 槪念(개념). notions 개념, 생각. subconscious 잠재의식의.
urges 충동. socialised 사회화된. inhibitions 禁忌(금기).
intuitive 직관적인. patron saint 守護聖人(수호성인).
hard sciences 자연과학. run-up 전 단계. earnestness 진지함.
abundance 풍요. conformity 일치, 附合(부합). abnormal 비정상적인.
godsend 神의 선물, 뜻밖의 행운. scarce 부족한. prosperity 번영.
outstrip 능가하다. countless 無數(무수)한. indistinguishable 구별할 수 없는.
improve upon 개량하다. benefits 이익, 은혜. print ad 인쇄 광고.