Daisy Campaign Ad – Presidential Election

This document is a video portraying a young girl in a field picking the petals off of a flower. She is counting how many she picks off. The girls voice turns into a man's that is counting down from ten. Once 0 is reached, explosions and mushroom clouds fill the screen. The ad then explains that people must love each other to create a better world or they must die. Finally, it tells the viewers to vote for Lyndon B. Johnson on November 3rd. During the time this campaign advertisement was created, it was the height of the Cold War. Communism is wanting to spread itself throughout parts of the world. The tensions between the democratic United States and the communist Soviet Union were high. People during this time were suspicious of communist influence and fearful of an attack by the Soviet Union. With both countries possessing an arsenal of nuclear weapons, the threat of nuclear war was very real. This presidential campaign video is intended to use the fear of nuclear war and destruction, to influence the American voters to vote for Lyndon Johnson as president. Without saying it, the video is giving an ultimatum to the people. It wants them to vote for Johnson as president, or face annihilation. The young girl picking daisies at the beginning serves to get people to relate to the video. There would have been many American families who had a young girl like this one in their house. Seeing the young girl, then seeing the destruction of nuclear weapons will cause even greater reason for people to vote for someone who will not allow that to happen. This video was a vital part of why Johnson beat Barry Goldwater in the 1964 presidential election. The voice in the middle of the video is Lyndon Johnson speaking about the stakes of nuclear war. He is talking as if he is giving a speech to the people. This helps Johnson to convey his point that America needs a strong president that will avert this kind of disaster at all costs.

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