NEW YORK—Johnson, Kennedy, Nixon and Eisenhower are known for their politics, and now a New York museum seeks to display an equally impressive legacy from these presidents: their campaign commercials.
Sponsored by Bloomberg Corporation, a financial service, news and media company, "Campaigning for President: New York and the American Election," organized by the Museum of the City of New York's deputy director and chief curator Dr. Sara Henry, and by the museum's curator of special exhibitions, Thomas Mellins, will be on display from June 24 to November 4, 2008.
"The exhibition will charm visitors: it is a rare look into the politics of the country, state, and city through the lens of campaign memorabilia," said Susan Henshaw Jones, president and director of the Museum of the City of New York. "It reminds us that politics is and has always been raw—and very entertaining."
On display are various campaign artifacts from 1789 to 2004, such as "I Like Ike" socks and Good Humor Ice Cream wrappers that promote Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy.
From an online exhibition of the Museum of the Moving Image, the exhibition "Campaigning for President" will also feature a special presentation on presidential campaign commercials dating from 1952 to 2004.
The commercials contain an ad of 1964's famous "Daisy Girl" made by Tony Schwartz for Lyndon Johnson's campaign, a 1952 "Ike for President" Disney cartoon, and a 2004 "Windsurfing" George W. Bush ad which comically depicted John Kerry as a flip-flopper, and more.
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