A Historical View of Food Publicity

(Family Features) If you’ve ever wondered how national food brands are promoted, now’s your chance to dive into the history of some exciting public relations campaigns. “Adventures in PR,” a new book from PR pioneer Leo Pearlstein, offers an insightful and informative perspective on the history of food publicity. In his book, Pearlstein recounts a number of interesting adventures – both good and bad – with classic movie and television celebrities over the past 60 years, and shows readers how to apply these experiences to their own business activities. 

When Pearlstein founded Lee & Associates, Inc. Marketing in 1950, he had no idea he would one day be referred to as a "Legend of Food PR.” Over the years, Pearlstein, who personally supervises all phases of the agency's operations and members of his firm, has won numerous awards for outstanding accomplishments in food-industry public relations, marketing and merchandising from many organizations.

Pharmaceutical manufacturers, food conglomerates and major corporations have called on Pearlstein's expertise in corporate communications. He pioneered California agricultural commodity and generic promotions, and created and supervised successful programs for more than 40 different food advisory boards, trade associations and co-ops, as well as state and federally funded marketing groups. And, because of his great knowledge of food, Pearlstein was invited to participate in the first President's Council on Nutrition at the White House.

Pearlstein's candid tell-all offers tips, tales of both successes and mishaps, and insights gained from publicizing a large variety of clients. “Adventures in PR” also contains many historic photos and behind-the-scenes stories with stars such as Jayne Mansfield, Abbott and Costello, Steve Allen and others. Anyone interested in the PR industry – or foodies wanting to know how national brands are promoted – will find this book an enjoyable read.

“My stories are about adventures that happened as a result of opportunities” Pearlstein said. “There were two types of opportunities. If something happened in the press, we would see if we could react with positive information that would be complimentary to our client. There were also opportunities that we could create by working with someone else and including their product information with our messages. We call them ‘tie-ins.’ We would share costs for media and production, or we would include their product in our recipes and they would include our product in theirs. We would both benefit with increased exposure without additional costs.”

For more information about “Adventures in PR,” visit adventuresinpr.com.