(Editor’s Note: With campaign ads beginning to flow there is none more famous than “Daisy.” Mr. Babb’s piece is offered for those new to campaigns and political advertising. For those inclined to watch a link is provided below.)
By Drew Babb
Drew Babb teaches political advertising at American University and is president of the firm Drew Babb & Associates.
Fifty years ago, on Sept. 7, 1964, a political ad called “Daisy” aired on behalf of President Lyndon Johnson. The commercial opened with a little girl in a meadow, then a horrific nuclear blast filled the screen. We’ve been feeling the fallout ever since.
It was only a minute long. The paid ad ran on national television only once, and only on one network, NBC. But that’s all it took.
The message
Here’s what you would have heard that early fall evening during “Monday Night at the Movies”:
LITTLE GIRL (plucking daisy petals): One, two, three, four, five, seven, six, six, eight, nine . . .
“MISSION CONTROL”: Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, zero . . .
SOUND EFFECTS: Huge atomic bomb blast.
PRESIDENT JOHNSON: 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.
ANNOUNCER: Vote for President Johnson on Nov. 3. The stakes are too high for you to stay home.
The takeaway? Johnson’s Republican opponent, Barry Goldwater, was a crazed, trigger-happy cowboy. If his finger were ever on the nuclear button, the world would blow up. We’d all die.
The fallout
You can love “Daisy” for its power or hate it for its excess — I both love it and hate it — but it changed political advertising forever. Here’s how:
●It gave politicians a license to kill. Earlier political commercials were overwhelmingly upbeat. In 1960, Frank Sinatra sang a rewrite of “High Hopes” for John F. Kennedy, with this jolly lyric: “Everyone is voting for Jack, ’cause he’s got what all the rest lack.”
But “Daisy” was a full-throated, gloves-off, take-no-prisoners negative message. Arguably, and for better or worse, it’s the Mother of All Attack Ads.
To execute the spot, the creative types didn’t just run still photos with a crawl of type. They used every weapon in their arsenal. They grabbed for viewers’ hearts with an adorable little girl (commercial actress Monique Corzilius). They tapped into viewers’ greatest nightmare with footage of a huge mushroom-shaped cloud. (Remember, this was less than two years after the Cuban missile crisis.) They reinforced the visuals with intrusive sound effects (provided by the genius sound engineer Tony Schwartz). They had Johnson read a snippet of spiritual poetry (by W.H. Auden). And they hired a voice-of-God baritone (sports announcer Chris Schenkel) to wrap things up.
●By all means, trash the tropes. Nowhere in “Daisy” does an image appear of either candidate. Barry Goldwater is not mentioned. There are no American flags, bunting, stirring music or other cliches of the genre. Johnson’s ad agency, Doyle Dane Bernbach, deployed every bit of the imagery and verbal power typically used with nonpolitical clients such as Volkswagen, Avis Car Rental and Levy’s Rye Bread. DDB wasn’t going to pussyfoot around for the LBJ brand just because this was politics. The agency had its share of gentlemen and ladies, but when it came to gaining market share for its clients, they were New York street brawlers.
●Overreacting can boomerang. Before there was something called “earned media,” “Daisy” did just that. The Republican campaign erupted in outrage. The Johnson campaign, which anticipated the heat, quietly and quickly pulled the ad, and it never ran again. But the networks (only three of ’em, remember?) duly registered the GOP ire and — to show people what all the fuss was about — ran “Daisy” ad nauseam. Result: The one-time- only spot was shown over and over. And under the aegis of newscasts, it undoubtedly picked up credibility along the way.
The credits
So who crafted and produced this message? Who’s responsible for it?
Tony Schwartz is often given sole credit. But commercials are like little movies. They’re collaborative. The collaborators include Bill Bernbach, DDB’s creative director; Sid Myers and Stanley Lee, art director and copywriter, respectively; and producer Aaron Ehrlich. On the account management side, Jim Graham was the point person.
But a creative agency always needs a creative client, so you have to give a nod to the White House, too. Steve Smith was the “matchmaker” who had recommended the upstart agency to his brother-in-law John F. Kennedy. Bill Moyers, Jack Valenti and Richard Goodwin seem to have been on the receiving end of the pitch. Lyndon Johnson, ultimately, approved the ad.
The reverberations
We’re on the cusp of another expensive, nasty election. Gird up your loins, everyone.
Many of 2014’s candidates and their brilliant operatives weren’t alive when “Daisy” aired. But what they do and what they’ll produce will be influenced by those 60 seconds that ran 50 years ago.
Happy birthday, “Daisy.”
Link for TV ad.
Realistic View
Tuesday, November 4th, 2014(Editor’s Note: The commentary below came as an email from Bob Harris. I thought it was powerful and should be shared. Mr. Harris grew up in Charleston where his father was editor of The Charleston Gazette and later Chief of Staff to Senator Jennings Randolph. Bob Harris is based in Washington with extensive knowledge of government and politics. He is principal in the firm of Hutter & Harris.)
Thanks for your thoughtful comments in your Final Look.
It is a very bleak look. We are one day away from an election, but does anyone really know what this election is about. Most elections are about the future, this election cannot be — I hope!! If that is the case, the future is not bright at all!!
My mentors in politics and government were my father and Senator Randolph. They taught me when it was time to be partisan and when it was time to roll up your sleeves and go to work. I so often recall — fondly — the Senator taking me aside when I was a page and giving my first real lesson in bi-partisanship. I recall him taking me to a desk off the center aisle of the Senate Chamber and telling me that that aisle divided political parties, not people — people crossed that line every day when it was necessary for the betterment of the country and their states.
Today, bi-partisanship is demonstrated only by Members sitting together at a State of Union address. In between, Senators and House Members line up to campaign against their colleagues, to cut ads in another Members state, to host fundraisers for the opponent of another Member and more!! Then, they come back to Washington and talk about working together, which cannot because they cannot trust each other…
Trust has gone…
And, so has the American people’s trust in their government.
Why, you ask? Because it is pounded into our heads each day by the rancor of on-line reports (many, many, many unsubstantiated or ever false), by misleading press reports (both liberal and conservative) and by name-calling all over the internet, radio and television.
Today, we have the networks (Fox on one side, MSNBC on the other and all those somewhere in between) setting up the narrative of the election. But, more importantly, the day-to-day inner workings of the government. We see news on Fox we do not see on another network, we see news on MSNBC we see on no other network. Worst of all, it comes from those reports from the rotunda of the Cannon or Russell Buildings as Members throw themselves in front of the all day parade of cable tv shows to complain about someone else, never talking about what is good about American or how we can make America a better place. America is falling apart and it is always someone else’s fault.
I was in West Virginia this past weekend for the football game, the ads are everywhere. When I left, I thought Barack Obama was the President of a country other than the one in which I live. He is responsible for everything, even for stripping our rights!!
I am now back at my desk, awaiting the election tomorrow. And, after that I will be here, watching the lamest of Lame Ducks. Shortly after the New Year a new Congress will begin; the House and Senate will organize and we will be begin the 2016 election cycle.
Members will call each other names, accuse members of the “other party” of being anything but American, and block legislation sponsored by anyone from that other party. They will do all that in the span of a 3 day work week and in between we will watch Members line-up to sponsor fundraisers and campaign against the colleagues!!
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