Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond?

Although it could do little about the state of the economy, N. W. Ayer suggested that through a well-orchestrated advertising and public-relations campaign it could have a significant impact on the "social attitudes of the public at large and thereby channel American spending toward larger and more expensive diamonds instead of "competitive luxuries.

I think every marketer on the planet should read this article. Most articles on diamonds tend to vilify the players involved, but this article is very level-headed. It tells a decades-long story, and what I find interesting about it is this deliberate patience of its characters. They knew it would take a decade to change the public's perception of diamonds, and then yet another one to change it again. But, they were undeterred and calculated in their efforts.