**The ‘Daisy Girl’: How a TV Commercial Turned the Tide in a U.S. Election”**
After the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, his vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson, assumed the presidency, becoming the 36th president in the history of the United States.
However, the following year, Americans headed to the polls to elect a new president. In the 1964 election, the Democrats nominated Johnson, while the Republicans chose Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater.
**A Controversial Republican Candidate**
During the 1964 election campaign, Johnson’s team focused on Barry Goldwater’s stance on nuclear weapons at a time when the Cold War was at its height, just under two years after the Cuban Missile Crisis.
In his statements, Barry Goldwater opposed the idea of entering into agreements with other countries to limit or prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.
By 1964, both the United States and the Soviet Union possessed more than 30,000 nuclear warheads. Additionally, nuclear shelters were widespread in American cities, and schools were required to conduct drills teaching children how to hide and protect themselves in the event of a nuclear attack.
Goldwater was part of a group of hardline politicians within the Republican Party. In several of his statements, he referred to nuclear weapons as ordinary weapons and advocated for their rapid increase, describing them as a type of deterrent against Soviet ambitions.
In previous statements, he had even suggested using light nuclear weapons in Vietnam to clear the forests where Viet Cong fighters were hiding.
Goldwater also mocked the idea of military officials needing presidential authorization to use nuclear weapons, opposed further restrictions on nuclear testing, criticized the Social Security system, and vehemently opposed the Civil Rights Act.
**A Little Girl, Flowers, and a Controversial Ad**
From the start, a significant portion of Republicans opposed Goldwater’s nomination. Despite securing the Republican nomination, Goldwater refused to alter his political rhetoric to alleviate American voters’ concerns about nuclear weapons.
Johnson’s campaign capitalized on this, aiming to tarnish Goldwater’s image in the eyes of American voters. As part of this strategy, Johnson’s team turned to the advertising agency Doyle Dane Bernbach to produce a television ad supporting their candidate.
In a controversial ad that aired in 1964, titled “Daisy,” a 3-year-old girl is shown picking flowers in a garden. As the camera zooms in on her eyes, a massive nuclear explosion occurs in the background. Then, Johnson’s voice is heard, delivering a message about the importance of creating a world where everyone can live in peace.
Although the ad did not directly mention Goldwater, it sparked widespread criticism in American political circles, especially considering that an estimated 100 million Americans watched it at the time.
In that year’s election, Lyndon Johnson secured an easy victory over Goldwater, with the Democratic candidate receiving 486 electoral votes compared to just 52 for his Republican opponent.
–by/radwa sherif ✏️✏️📚