A cotton-clothed child stands in a field gently plucking the petals off of a daisy. “One…two…thwee…four…five…seven…six…” the doe-eyed girl innocently counts. The camera zooms to a close-up of her eye as an ominous countdown breaks the tranquility with a deafening nuclear blast. “Vote for President Johnson on November 3,” the 1964 TV ad concludes.
“Lyndon B. Johnson’s Daisy Girl ad went viral before viral was a thing,” says Adam Levine, assistant director and co-curator of the I Approve This Message: Decoding Political Ads exhibit, which runs July 14-Nov. 8, at the Toledo Museum of Art. Using roughly 60 presidential campaign ads from 1952 to 2012, including notables such as “I Like Ike” and “It’s Morning in America,” the exhibit takes a nonpartisan look at techniques used to sway voters. “[Daisy Girl] was the first time advertising people started using more sophisticated techniques to reach people on an emotional level,” says co-curator Harriett Levin Balkind.
Like in the voting booth itself, the exhibit immediately confronts visitors with a choice: Begin on one of two emotional paths — hope and pride or fear and anger, with theaters showing how ads target each.
At the center, a Mood Room bombards visitors with images and sounds typically used in political ads — an American flag fluttering gracefully in the wind, for example — that taps into a range of feelings. “The Mood Room is to demonstrate how we are all affected by these images and sounds, even if it’s not entirely conscious,” says Levine.
Finally, an interactive zone offers visitors the chance to create their own political ad mashup or craft a presidential poster.
“You can come with your family and bring your 7-year-old and have a great time,” Levine says. “Or you can be the greatest political wonk in the world and also get a lot out of it.”
Don’t Miss: Chalkboard paint areas located next to dissected 7-foot-tall ads deliver prompts such as: “My pride ad would include the following images …” and are an integral part of the exhibit. “People are applying the lessons that they are learning about how political ads work,” says Levine. 2445 Monroe St., Toledo, 419-255-8000, toledomuseum.org
Where to eat: Feeling like a good ol’ American chili dog? Visit Rudy’s Hot Dog on Sylvania Avenue. When President Barack Obama stopped by in 2011, he ordered two. 946 W. Sylvania Ave., Toldeo, 419-478-7095,
rudyshotdog.com
Where to stay: Following suit, you can sleep it off at the Radisson Hotel at the Univerity of Toledo, where the president also spent the night in 2012.