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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsOn this day, September 7, 1964, The "Daisy" commercial aired on TV.
Daisy (advertisement)
Agency: Doyle Dane Bernbach, Tony Schwartz
Client: Democratic National Committee, Lyndon B. Johnson 1964 presidential campaign
Running time: 60 seconds
Release date(s): September 7, 1964
"Daisy", sometimes referred to as "Daisy Girl" or "Peace, Little Girl", is a controversial political advertisement that aired on television as part of Lyndon B. Johnson's 1964 presidential campaign. Though aired only once, it is considered one of the most important factors in Johnson's landslide victory over the Republican Party's candidate, Barry Goldwater, and a turning point in political and advertising history. A partnership between the Doyle Dane Bernbach agency and Tony Schwartz, the "Daisy" advertisement was designed to broadcast Johnson's anti-war and anti-nuclear positions. Goldwater was against the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and suggested the use of nuclear weapons in the Vietnam War, if necessary. The Johnson campaign used Goldwater's speeches to imply he would wage a nuclear war.
The commercial begins with three-year-old Monique Corzilius standing in a meadow, picking the petals of a daisy as she counts from one to ten incorrectly. After she reaches "nine", she pauses, and a booming male voice is heard counting the numbers backward from "ten", in a manner similar to the start of a missile launch countdown. A zoom of the video still concentrates on the girl's right eye until her pupil fills the screen, which is then replaced by the flash and sound of a nuclear explosion. A voice-over by Johnson states emphatically, "These are the stakes! To make a world in which all of God's children can live, or to go into the dark. We must either love each other, or we must die."
The ad was pulled after its initial broadcast, but continued to be replayed and analyzed by media, including the nightly news, talk shows, and news broadcasting agencies. The Johnson campaign was widely criticized for using the prospect of nuclear war, and implying that Goldwater would start one, to frighten voters. Despite the criticism, the Johnson campaign released several other commercials attacking Goldwater's political positions, without referring to him by name. Other campaigns have adopted and used the "Daisy" commercial since 1964.
{snip}
Agency: Doyle Dane Bernbach, Tony Schwartz
Client: Democratic National Committee, Lyndon B. Johnson 1964 presidential campaign
Running time: 60 seconds
Release date(s): September 7, 1964
"Daisy", sometimes referred to as "Daisy Girl" or "Peace, Little Girl", is a controversial political advertisement that aired on television as part of Lyndon B. Johnson's 1964 presidential campaign. Though aired only once, it is considered one of the most important factors in Johnson's landslide victory over the Republican Party's candidate, Barry Goldwater, and a turning point in political and advertising history. A partnership between the Doyle Dane Bernbach agency and Tony Schwartz, the "Daisy" advertisement was designed to broadcast Johnson's anti-war and anti-nuclear positions. Goldwater was against the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and suggested the use of nuclear weapons in the Vietnam War, if necessary. The Johnson campaign used Goldwater's speeches to imply he would wage a nuclear war.
The commercial begins with three-year-old Monique Corzilius standing in a meadow, picking the petals of a daisy as she counts from one to ten incorrectly. After she reaches "nine", she pauses, and a booming male voice is heard counting the numbers backward from "ten", in a manner similar to the start of a missile launch countdown. A zoom of the video still concentrates on the girl's right eye until her pupil fills the screen, which is then replaced by the flash and sound of a nuclear explosion. A voice-over by Johnson states emphatically, "These are the stakes! To make a world in which all of God's children can live, or to go into the dark. We must either love each other, or we must die."
The ad was pulled after its initial broadcast, but continued to be replayed and analyzed by media, including the nightly news, talk shows, and news broadcasting agencies. The Johnson campaign was widely criticized for using the prospect of nuclear war, and implying that Goldwater would start one, to frighten voters. Despite the criticism, the Johnson campaign released several other commercials attacking Goldwater's political positions, without referring to him by name. Other campaigns have adopted and used the "Daisy" commercial since 1964.
{snip}
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On this day, September 7, 1964, The "Daisy" commercial aired on TV. (Original Post)
mahatmakanejeeves
Sep 2022
OP
greatauntoftriplets
(175,742 posts)1. I saw that the one and only time it was broadcast.
Scary stuff to a high school kid. Of course, I was already supporting LBJ.
Srkdqltr
(6,291 posts)2. This was not too long after the nuclear standoff with Russia. People were still raw from that.
Also nuclear tests were widely shown on tv as entertainment at the time.
BradAllison
(1,879 posts)3. And who would have known....
....we have a former President who was ready to do this to us in a heartbeat.
mopinko
(70,112 posts)4. if i were the dnc, i'd resurrect it.