Daisy Petals and Mushroom Clouds
LBJ, Barry Goldwater, and the Ad That Changed American Politics
By Robert Mann | Publisher: LSU Press
About the book
The grainy black-and-white television ad shows a young girl in a flower-filled meadow, holding a daisy and plucking its petals, which she counts one by one. As the camera slowly zooms in on her eye, a man's solemn countdown replaces hers. At zero the little girl's eye is engulfed by an atomic mushroom cloud. As the inferno roils in the background, President Lyndon B. Johnson's voice intones, \"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.\"
In this thought-provoking and highly readable book, Robert Mann provides a concise, engaging study of the \"Daisy Girl\" ad, widely acknowledged as the most important and memorable political ad in American history. Commissioned by Johnson's campaign and aired only once during Johnson's 1964 presidential contest against Barry Goldwater, it remains an iconic piece of electoral propaganda, intertwining cold war fears of nuclear annihilation with the increasingly savvy world of media and advertising. Mann presents a nuanced view of how Johnson's campaign successfully cast Barry Goldwater as a radical too dangerous to control the nation's nuclear arsenal, a depiction that sparked immediate controversy across the United States.
Repeatedly analyzed in countless books and articles, the spot purportedly destroyed Goldwater's presidential campaign. Although that degree of impact on the Goldwater campaign is debatable, what is certain is that the ad ushered in a new era of political advertising using emotional appeals as a routine aspect of campaign strategy.
Editions of Daisy Petals and Mushroom Clouds
- Hardcover
- ISBN 9780807142936
- EBook
- ISBN 9780807142967
- EBook
- ISBN 9780807142974
- PDF
- ISBN 9780807142950
Read an Excerpt
The grainy black-and-white television ad shows a young girl in a flower-filled meadow, holding a daisy and plucking its petals, which she counts one by one. As the camera slowly zooms in on her eye, a man's solemn countdown replaces hers. At zero the little girl's eye is engulfed by an atomic mushroom cloud. As the inferno roils in the background, President Lyndon B. Johnson's voice intones, \"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.\"
In this thought-provoking and highly readable book, Robert Mann provides a concise, engaging study of the \"Daisy Girl\" ad, widely acknowledged as the most important and memorable political ad in American history. Commissioned by Johnson's campaign and aired only once during Johnson's 1964 presidential contest against Barry Goldwater, it remains an iconic piece of electoral propaganda, intertwining cold war fears of nuclear annihilation with the increasingly savvy world of media and advertising. Mann presents a nuanced view of how Johnson's campaign successfully cast Barry Goldwater as a radical too dangerous to control the nation's nuclear arsenal, a depiction that sparked immediate controversy across the United States.
Repeatedly analyzed in countless books and articles, the spot purportedly destroyed Goldwater's presidential campaign. Although that degree of impact on the Goldwater campaign is debatable, what is certain is that the ad ushered in a new era of political advertising using emotional appeals as a routine aspect of campaign strategy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Daisy Petals and Mushroom Clouds about?
The grainy black-and-white television ad shows a young girl in a flower-filled meadow, holding a daisy and plucking its petals, which she counts one by one. As the camera slowly zooms in on her eye, a man's solemn countdown replaces hers. At zero the little girl's eye is engulfed by an atomic mushroom cloud. As the inferno roils in the background, President Lyndon B. Johnson's voice intones, \"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.\"
In this thought-provoking and highly readable book, Robert Mann provides a concise, engaging study of the \"Daisy Girl\" ad, widely acknowledged as the most important and memorable political ad in American history. Commissioned by Johnson's campaign and aired only once during Johnson's 1964 presidential contest against Barry Goldwater, it remains an iconic piece of electoral propaganda, intertwining cold war fears of nuclear annihilation with the increasingly savvy world of media and advertising. Mann presents a nuanced view of how Johnson's campaign successfully cast Barry Goldwater as a radical too dangerous to control the nation's nuclear arsenal, a depiction that sparked immediate controversy across the United States.
Repeatedly analyzed in countless books and articles, the spot purportedly destroyed Goldwater's presidential campaign. Although that degree of impact on the Goldwater campaign is debatable, what is certain is that the ad ushered in a new era of political advertising using emotional appeals as a routine aspect of campaign strategy.
What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in Daisy Petals and Mushroom Clouds?
Society and Social Sciences > Politics and government > Political activism / Political engagement > Political campaigning and advertising
Where can I read a sample of Daisy Petals and Mushroom Clouds?
You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9780807142936
How long is Daisy Petals and Mushroom Clouds and how many pages does it have?
Daisy Petals and Mushroom Clouds has 216 page(s)
Who is/are the Author/s of the book Daisy Petals and Mushroom Clouds?
Robert Mann
Who is the Publisher of the book Daisy Petals and Mushroom Clouds?
LSU Press
What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?
Daisy Petals and Mushroom Clouds is available as hardcover(ISBN 9780807142936) and ebook(ISBN 9780807142967) and ebook(ISBN 9780807142974) and pdf(ISBN 9780807142950)
Where can I buy Daisy Petals and Mushroom Clouds online or support local independent bookshops?
You can buy Daisy Petals and Mushroom Clouds from below
Where can I buy Daisy Petals and Mushroom Clouds?