WHAT'S INSIDE THE PACK
- Lesson 1: Discover the roots of manipulation through Edward Bernays’ work and master vocabulary for how brands engineer human desire.
- Lesson 2: Explore how cities shape their image through branding and analyse famous campaigns like “I Love NY” to understand how perception can be designed and reshaped.
- Lesson 3: Explore screen time psychology and "Two Billion Truman Shows" while analysing how modern apps are engineered to keep users hooked.
LESSON 1
Explore the mind of Edward Bernays—Freud's nephew—to discover how he turned psychoanalysis into a tool for engineering human desire through controversial campaigns. Master the vocabulary of manipulation, from 'luring people in' to 'jumping on the bandwagon,' and analyse how brands like Nike use social movements to sway public opinion. Wrap up with a debate on whether these techniques are clever marketing or dangerous mind games.
FREE
LESSON 2
Explore how cities build their identity through branding. Analyse real campaigns from cities like New York, Melbourne, Paris, and Amsterdam, and how logos shape global perception. Build natural vocabulary for describing experiences and impressions (e.g. a letdown, cash in on its image, rough around the edges, hit or miss, grow on someone). Finish with a City Brand Crisis Room role-play where students rebrand a city as consultants.
FREE
LESSON 3
Explore the ‘guilty confessions’ of screen time through video-based social experiments that reveal the surprising gap between perception and reality. Analyse an expert-led video unpacking the psychology behind ‘Two Billion Truman Shows’ to show how apps are engineered to keep users hooked. Reflect on your own screen habits, create a realistic digital detox plan, and debate whether extreme solutions like Google’s Paper Phone represent the future of focus.