What the Daisy Commercial Wrought
Mad Men, Volkswagen, and the Birth of the Political Attack Ad
Pundits have branded this primary presidential campaign season as the most vitriolic in history. Negative commercials dominate the airwaves.
How did we get here? Mad Men has the answer, of course.
During an episode from the first season of the show, fictional advertising executive Don Draper expresses revulsion for a self-deprecating Volkswagen print ad. It was part of a real, groundbreaking whimsical campaign from the 1960s that included several legendary ads–the “Lemon” spot Draper despises, “Think Small,” and later the “Snow Plow” television commercial. The campaign was innovative because of its refreshing …
