Incumbent President Johnson, trying to embark on a second presidential term, ran a number of attack ads on presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. Goldwater tried to run on a right-wing platform, saying that his extremism was justified if he was in the right.
Goldwater justified the use of nuclear weapons, causing Johnson to come up with an attack ad known as "Daisy," which was intended to highlight Goldwater's rather aggressive stance on military action. Goldwater was quoted as saying, "By one impulse act, you could press a button and wipe out 300 million people before sundown." This was the foundation for the famous attack ad, which remains well-known today.
Johnson also capitalized on Goldwater's KKK support, creating an ad known as "KKK for Goldwater," which noted the ties between Goldwater's support base and the Klan—ties that were echoed in "Confessions of a Republican."
Finally, what might have been the most effective ad after "Daisy" was based on Goldwater's remark about the Eastern Seaboard: "Sometimes I think this country would be better off if we could just saw off the eastern seaboard and let it float out to sea."
Needless to say, the incumbent president succeeded in his campaign.
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1 comment:
It's kind of surprising to see how, rather than using ads to brag about his own accomplishments, he uses them to tear down his opponent instead. Although, I suppose that happens all the time today as well, and isn't really all that surprising.
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