Monique M. Luiz (née Corzilius; born May 3, 1961), also known as "Daisy Girl" or "Peace, Little Girl" [citation needed], is an American former child model best known for appearing in the "Daisy" advertisement, part of then incumbent president Lyndon B. Johnson's 1964 presidential campaign.
Monique Luiz | |
|---|---|
 Still from the "Daisy" political advertisement | |
| Born | Monique M. Corzilius May 3, 1961 Pine Beach, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Other names | Monique Cozy |
| Occupation | Child model |
| Known for | "Daisy" (1964) |
| Spouse | Manuel Luiz |
Corzilius appeared in her first television commercial role at the age of two, using the stage name Monique Cozy. She appeared in television advertisements for advertisers including Kodak, Velveeta, and Prudential Insurance. She moved to France with her parents in 1975 and married there before returning to the United States in 1983. She appeared in the 2014 documentary Bombs Away and was recruited by Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, to appear in an advertisement for her presidential campaign against Donald Trump.
Early life and "Daisy" edit
Monique M. Corzilius was born on May 3, 1961, and raised in Pine Beach, New Jersey. She was the youngest of Fred and Colette Corzilius' three children. During her childhood, her mother took her to child acting auditions in the New York City. Working under the stage name Monique Cozy, her first professional appearance was at the age of two, modeling in a print advertisement for Lipton soup. She also appeared in advertisements for companies including Kodak, Velveeta, Prudential Insurance.[1][2][3]
In 1964, Corzilius was selected to act in the "Daisy" advertisement, part of then incumbent president Lyndon B. Johnson's 1964 presidential campaign against Senator Barry Goldwater. The main concept of "Daisy" was to communicate Johnson's anti-war and anti-nuclear positions,[citation needed] contrasting them with Goldwater's support for the use of nuclear weapons in the Vietnam War.[4][5] The advertisement began with Corzilius standing in a meadow, picking petals of a daisy and counting from one to nine.[6] She skipped a few numbers and repeated some twice. After various takes, it was decided that a miscount might be more appealing to the voters.[7] After she reached "nine", a booming male voice was then heard counting the numbers backward from "ten", similar to a missile launch countdown.[8] The scene then cut to footage of mushroom clouds following a nuclear explosion, and the final frame read: "Vote for President Johnson on November 3" (written in all caps), then adding, "The stakes are too high for you to stay home."[9]
According to Corzilius, her parents were unaware that she was in a political commercial.[2][10] She was paid $105 (equivalent to $1,032 in 2023) for acting in "Daisy".[7] The advertisement was aired at 9:50 p.m. EST on September 7, on the premise that most young children would be asleep, leaving their parents watching the television, and eventually be influenced to visualize their child in Corzilius' role.[11] Although broadcast only once, the ad was considered one of the most popular and controversial political advertisements.[12] Corzilius was later depicted on the cover page of the September 25 issue of Time magazine.[13] She continued to appear in television and print advertisements for several years following "Daisy".[2] In 1967, she appeared in an ad for Kool-Aid Popsicles.[3]
Later life edit
In 1975, Corzilius and her parents moved to Philippsbourg, France, where she married Portuguese Manuel Luiz before returning to the United States in 1983.[2][3] The couple settled in Phoenix, Arizona.[7][14] She did not see the "Daisy" commercial until the 2000s, when she searched for it on the Internet.[2][7] Another child actor, Birgitte Olsen, falsely claimed that she was the child actor in the commercial.[15] Monique's husband Manuel became a naturalized American citizen in 2011.[7][14] As of 2014, she worked as a human-resources supervisor at a Phoenix bank.[2] She appeared in the 2014 documentary Bombs Away about the 1964 presidential election and its role in ushering "in a new age of highly negative television advertising".[16][17]
While campaigning for the 2016 presidential election, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton enlisted Monique to appear in a "sequel" commercial.[1][18] The ad featured Luiz introducing herself, in voice-over with footage from the original "Daisy" ad. She said, "The fear of nuclear war that we had as children, I never thought our children would ever have to deal with that again. And to see that coming forward in this election is really scary."[19][20] The spot was aired during the commercial breaks of evening newscasts in Arizona, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.[21]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b Nowicki, Dan (September 7, 2014). "'Daisy Girl' political ad still haunting 50 years later". USA Today. Archived from the original on May 11, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f Nowicki, Dan (September 6, 2014). "'Daisy Girl' political ad still haunting 50 years later". The Arizona Republic. Archived from the original on August 11, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
- ^ a b c Mann, Robert (2011). Daisy Petals and Mushroom Clouds: LBJ, Barry Goldwater, and the Ad That Changed American Politics. LSU Press. pp. 57–60. ISBN 978-0-8071-4293-6.
- ^ Hall, Jane (November 12, 1989). "Bill Moyers Holds a Mirror Up to America : The veteran journalist airs his views on tabloid TV, celebrity journalism and dramatic reenactments". The Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 11, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
- ^ Newman, Bruce I. (1999). Handbook of Political Marketing. SAGE Publications. pp. 737–738. ISBN 978-0-7619-1109-8.
- ^ Twitchell, James (2000). Twenty Ads That Shook the World. Crown Publishing Group. p. 157. ISBN 978-0-609-60563-9.
- ^ a b c d e Daly, Michael (March 19, 2012). "A Grown 'Daisy Girl' Recalls Her Infamous Attack Ad". Newsweek. Archived from the original on December 24, 2020. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
- ^ Altschuler, Bruce E. (1990). LBJ and the Polls. University of Florida Press. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-8130-1894-2.
- ^ Dallek, Robert (2004). Lyndon B. Johnson : Portrait of a President. Oxford University Press. p. 186. ISBN 978-0-19-515920-2.
- ^ Greenberg, David (February 18, 2016). "How a Little Girl Beat Barry Goldwater". Daily Beast. Archived from the original on November 7, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
- ^ Bump, Allison (2014). "Peace, Love, and Nuclear Explosions". Iowa Journal of Cultural Studies. University of Iowa: 2. Archived from the original on August 11, 2021. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
- ^ "When the Client Is a Candidate". The New York Times. October 25, 1964. Archived from the original on August 11, 2021. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
- ^ Rothman, Lily (September 7, 2014) [September 7, 1964]. "History's Most Infamous Political Ads". Time. Archived from the original on August 10, 2021. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
- ^ a b Hruby, Patrick (September 24, 2012). "Where Are They Now?: Daisy Girl". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on August 11, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
- ^ Kiley, David (June 18, 2008). "Daisy Girl revealed". Bloomberg. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
- ^ Sabato, Larry (October 7, 2014). "'Bombs Away' Tackles LBJ, Goldwater and 1964 Election". Sabato's Crystal Ball. University of Virginia. Archived from the original on May 2, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
- ^ "Bombs Away: Participants Biographies". Center For Politics. University of Virginia. Archived from the original on November 11, 2019. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
- ^ "Hillary Clinton enlists 'Daisy' from the 1964 ad to questions Trump on nukes". October 31, 2016. Archived from the original on November 1, 2016. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
- ^ Merica, Dan (October 31, 2016). "Hillary Clinton enlists 'Daisy' from the 1964 ad to questions Trump on nukes". CNN. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
- ^ Nowicki, Dan (October 31, 2016). "The original 'Daisy Girl' returns for Hillary Clinton". The Arizona Republic. Archived from the original on August 11, 2021. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
- ^ Griffiths, Brent (October 31, 2016). "Clinton campaign invokes 'Daisy Girl' to attack Trump on nuclear weapons". Politico. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
External links edit
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Monique Luiz at IMDb