A history of presidential campaign commercials, 1952-2000

June 15, 2004 4:37 AM

A history of presidential campaign commercials, 1952-2000
In 1968, presidential candidate Richard Nixon was sitting in the office of Roger Ailes, a producer on The Mike Douglas Show, before a taping of the program. Nixon remarked, "It's too bad a guy has to rely on a gimmick like television to get elected." Ailes responded, "Television is no gimmick, and nobody will ever be elected to major office again without presenting themselves well on it." This is an exhibition from the American Museum of the Moving Image which provides the advertising spots of the candidates for US president.
Real/Windows Media Player only, server is slow as molasses
posted by tcp (6 comments total)

I had a packet loss of 50% until a few minutes ago, now the connection seems stable.
posted by tcp at 4:40 AM on June 15, 2004

Brilliant site, and great post, tcp. I always wanted to see that 'Daisy Girl' from the Johnson campaign. And if you see the Democratic campaign from '68 and compare that to Nixon's spots, it's no wonder they received a beating. To go with this: 'The Selling of the President (1968)' by Joe McGinnis. A true classic.
posted by NekulturnY at 6:07 AM on June 15, 2004

[this is good]
posted by turaho at 11:27 AM on June 15, 2004

See also here.
posted by tcp at 12:29 AM on July 6, 2004

doh! I wasn't drunk. It was early in the morning.
posted by tcp at 2:48 AM on July 6, 2004

i think i doubled yours, no? sorry.
posted by amberglow at 7:59 AM on July 6, 2004