The 1964 U.S. presidential campaign advertisement showing a child beside a nuclear mushroom cloud was “Daisy.”
The commercial was produced for President Lyndon B. Johnson’s reelection campaign against Republican nominee Barry Goldwater. It begins with a young girl counting while removing petals from a daisy. Her counting is interrupted by a countdown, followed by a nuclear explosion and a voice-over warning about the stakes of the election.
The advertisement aired only once as a conventional television commercial, on September 7, 1964, but news coverage and public discussion gave it enormous reach. It associated Goldwater with the danger of nuclear war without naming him directly. The campaign’s broader message emphasized judgment and the risks of escalation during the Cold War.
“Daisy” is sometimes called the “Daisy Girl” ad, but “Daisy” is the concise title used for the advertisement. Its influence helped establish emotionally powerful political television advertising as a defining feature of modern campaigns.