LBJ’s controversial “Daisy” ad—implying his (unnamed) Republican opponent Sen. Barry Goldwater would start a nuclear war—first aired 56 years ago tonight on NBC. Although broadcast only once as a paid political advertisement, TV news programs frequently replayed and discussed it.

Media consultant and sound designer Tony Schwartz (no relation) created the concept for the advertisement, which was then cast and filmed by the Doyle Dane Bernbach advertising agency.

For more on the creation, production, broadcast, and impact of this unprecedented campaign advertisement, see
@CONELRAD6401240‘s excellent and exhaustive history: http://conelrad.com/daisy/index.php 

See also this 2011 C-SPAN discussion with Professor Robert Mann, author of "Daisy Petals and Mushroom Clouds: LBJ, Barry Goldwater, and the Ad that Changed American Politics," Monique Luiz, who played the girl, and Sidney Myers, the ad's art director. https://www.c-span.org/video/?302628-1/1964-daisy-girl-advertisement

In 2014—50 years after the ad was first broadcast—Monique Luiz (née Corzilius) talked about how being the "Daisy" girl had affected her life, and how for decades she and her family consciously avoided discussing her role in it. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/09/07/daisy-girl-political-ad-still-haunting-50-years-later/15246667/

In case you're wondering which nuclear test is featured in the ad, there are actually two. The first fireball is from the July 16, 1945, Trinity test in New Mexico. The second is, almost certainly (though the film has been reversed) the March 17, 1953, Annie test in Nevada.

Five days after "Daisy" (formally titled "Peace, Little Girl") first aired, the Johnson campaign broadcast "Ice Cream," an equally powerful ad highlighting Goldwater's position on nuclear testing, focusing on the dangers of radioactive fallout on children.