B Reactor Atomic Culture Room: LBJ's Daisy Ad

The LBJ Daisy Ad exhibit panel in the Atomic Culture Room.

See exhibit panel for specific image credits.

Main Text
Text at the bottom right reads: “LBJ’s ‘Daisy Ad’ - The infamous ‘Daisy’ political advertisement aired for the first and last time on September 7, 1964. It began innocently enough with a little girl picking flowers. A voice initiates a countdown and at the end, a nuclear explosion goes off. Officially titled ‘Peace, Little Girl,’ the ad was part of Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidential campaign against Barry Goldwater, a man believed to be overly aggressive. ‘Peace, Little Girl’ only aired once. It was effective at burning the image of a little girl in a field right before a nuclear explosion into the minds of those who saw it.”

Inset text at the upper left reads: “The ‘Daisy Ad’ ran only a year after the Cuban Missile Crisis and further stoked fears of a nuclear war.”

Exhibit Panel Description
Entitled “Political Ads,” the poster displays a series of six black-and-white photographs of a little girl picking daisies in a field. The pictures zoom in on her face as she looks up. The dome of a mushroom cloud begins to erupt in the next photograph, with two more photographs at the bottom of fire, smoke, and destruction.

Visit This Exhibit Panel
In-person visitation of the B Reactor is only authorized on guided tours offered by the Department of Energy.