Earlier this month, Hillary Clinton recreated a famous commercial from Lyndon Johnson’s 1964 campaign, “Confessions of a Republican.”
The video starred the same actor from LBJ’s ad, and targeted GOP voters disillusioned with Donald Trump just as Johnson appealed to Republicans wary of Barry Goldwater.
But what if Democrats adopted LBJ’s entire television playbook? What if they went for a wholesale recreation of the on-air campaign that brought us the famous “Daisy” ad?
That’s exactly what Washington, D.C., filmmaker Jesse Medalia Strauss envisioned with a new video series making the rounds online. Strauss, an American University graduate who founded the progressive Forward Frame Media and is, full disclosure, a friend of this reporter, began by mimicking the Johnson campaign’s visual representation of Goldwater’s views.
Here’s “Eastern Seaboard” from LBJ:
And here’s “Wall” by Strauss:
Strauss also picked up on the Johnson tactic of using Republican words against Republicans. Here’s LBJ’s “Republican Convention”:
And here’s Strauss with “Primary”:
Finally, Strauss recreated a never-aired Johnson ad raising Goldwater’s support from the KKK, which, frankly, is directly relatable to this year’s campaign. Here’s the LBJ team:
And here’s Strauss taking on Trump:
Read Strauss’s commentary on these ads for Medium here.
