Advertising History As Never Seen Before

This "Daisy Ad" (as it is known in general) is without any doubt a special ad in USA's history and a pretty well known spot in the rest of the world. Its official name was "Peace, Little Girl" and the upcoming elections have the ad running again, as part of some specials about "advertising in politics".

Conceived by DDB, produced for the Democratic National Committee, and designed to decimate the presidential aspirations of Senator Barry M. Goldwater, the Daisy spot has come to be regarded as an iconic moment in pop culture history.

The ad was aimed at reinforcing the perception that the 1964 Republican candidate for president, Senator Barry M. Goldwater, could not be trusted with his finger on the button. Something that his Republican primary opponent, Nelson Rockefeller was the first to point out through a pamphlet entitled "Who Do You Want in the Room with the H Bomb," that was mass mailed to all registered Republicans in the state of California.

Love it or hate it, there are too many interesting details around an ad that run paid just once (on NBC) but became famous pretty quickly at a moment in time when there was not YouTube available, DiggIt, or so many TV channels for that matter.

Parts of the story behind this ad have been published here and there but now readers, historians and advertising aficionados, can find a more complete story all in one place, the CONELRAD website. As they say, "not until now has the full history of the spot been told in all its strange glory."

CONELRAD, a site dedicated to "all things Atomic", is worth a visit. They have gone through every aspect of this remarkable moment in popular culture and have interviewed people involved with the ad—including the Daisy Girl herself—who have rarely spoken on the record about the spot. Government documents, private papers, books, magazine and newspaper articles were also reviewed so that the complete record could be presented.

If you are interested in history, in politics or in advertising (or just curious about any of them) make some time to visit the site and enjoy all the information you can find there, from the complete history of the ad to the personalities involved, as well as some other spots from the same campaign.


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