Most Successful Campaign Ads

With the growth of television and other media outlets, presidential candidates were able to campaign on a greater platform just as candidates today are able to. For some, these campaign advertisements brought tremendous amounts of success and arguably were a key factor in determining the final election result.

I Like Ike

The 1952 election was the first time campaign ads were televised. Eisenhower 's "I Like Ike" became widely known and helped him defeat his Democrat opponent Adlai Stevenson. In total Eisenhower spent about $1.5 million on campaign ads which was one of the many factors that won him 83% of the electoral vote. The "I Like Ike" slogan was created by Peter G. Peterson, Eisenhower's campaign song was created by Irving Berlin. Walt Disney also helped Eisenhower make one of his campaign ads.

Daisy Girl

Perhaps the most famous and controversial ad was Lyndon Johnson's campaign ad in the 1964 presidential election, Daisy Girl. Shockingly, the ad was only played once, but was ingrained in the memory of many. In response to Barry Goldwater's advocacy for using nuclear bombs in Vietnam, the ad portrayed an innocent girl who is faced with the danger of absolute nuclear destruction. The ad fostered a feeling of fear of immediate nuclear threats and therefore drew more support to Johnson. The ad was created by Sid Myers, Stan Lee, and Tony Schwartz of Doyle Dane Bernbach. Johnson eventually won a landslide victory with 90% of the popular vote.

Kennedy for Me

In the 1960 election, Kennedy's campaign song was a jingle that many American citizens simply could not get out of their heads. It was catchy and repetitive, the perfect formula for any campaign song. In the song, lyrics emphasized the voter's own responsibility towards their future and constantly pointed out how young Kennedy was to appeal to younger voters. At this time, the counterculture was largely composed of younger generations that had their own unique traditions and Kennedy represented a candidate who could speak to the youth. This symbol of a new era and generation could be best symbolized in Kennedy's acceptance speech when he said, "We stand today on the edge of a new frontier." Kennedy eventually won with 49.72% of the popular vote.


Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daisy_(advertisement) 
http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1842516_1842514_1842506,00.html
http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1960/jingle
http://ww2.kqed.org/lowdown/2015/10/14/ten-of-the-best-presidential-campaign-commercials-of-all-time/
http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=1960