Texan political advertising at its best 2: 1960s nostalgia edition

by | Jun 20, 2008


Yesterday, I offered up Texan senator John Cornyn’s macho cowboy re-election video as “Texan political advertising at its best”.  But the enjoyably off-beat William Butler Yeast blog (which has a commendable “What I’ve Been Drinking” sidebar which I hope we’ll be imitating soon*) points out that the creator of the single most powerful (and nastiest) advert for any Texan politician ever died last weekend. 

The ad man was Tony Schwartz.  The Texan was Lyndon Baines Johnson.  The target was Barry Goldwater, LBJ’s opponent in the 1964 presidential election and feared by some as too likely to, er, go nuclear.  The result was the “Daisy Ad”.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63h_v6uf0Ao&feature=related]

* As you ask, it’s a gin and tonic for me right now.  Though I’m right out of lime.

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