Monique M. Luiz (; born May 3, 1961) is an American former
child model best known for appearing in the "
Daisy" (or "Peace, Little Girl") advertisement, part of then incumbent president
Lyndon B. Johnson's
1964 presidential campaign.
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
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, to appear in an advertisement for
her presidential campaign against
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
.
Early life and "Daisy"
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
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. Working under the stage name Monique Cozy, her first professional appearance was at the age of two, modeling in a print advertisement for
Lipton
Lipton is a brand named after its founder, Sir Thomas Lipton, Tom Lipton, who started an eponymous grocery retail business in the United Kingdom in 1871. The brand was used for various consumer goods sold in Lipton stores, including tea from 1 ...
soup. She also appeared in advertisements for companies including
Kodak,
Velveeta, and
Prudential Insurance.
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
Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...
. The main concept of "Daisy" was to communicate Johnson's anti-war and
anti-nuclear
The Anti-nuclear war movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, n ...
positions, contrasting them with Goldwater's support for the use of nuclear weapons in the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
. The advertisement began with Corzilius standing in a meadow, picking petals of a daisy and counting from one to nine. 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.
After she reached "nine", a booming male voice was then heard counting the numbers backward from "ten", similar to a missile launch
countdown. 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."
According to Corzilius, her parents were unaware that she was in a political commercial.
She was paid for acting in "Daisy".
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. Although broadcast only once, the ad was considered one of the most popular and controversial
political advertisements.
Corzilius was later depicted on the cover page of the September 25 issue of ''
Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine.
She continued to appear in television and print advertisements for several years following "Daisy".
In 1967, she appeared in a
Kool-Aid ad for
Popsicles.
Later life
In 1975, Corzilius and her parents moved to
Philippsbourg, France, where she married Portuguese Manuel Luiz before returning to the United States in 1983.
The couple settled in
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...
.
She did not see the "Daisy" commercial until the 2000s, when she searched for it on the Internet.
Another child actor, Birgitte Olsen, falsely claimed that she was the child actor in the commercial. Monique's husband Manuel became a naturalized American citizen in 2011.
As of 2014, she worked as a human-resources supervisor at a Phoenix bank.
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".
While
campaigning for the 2016 presidential election, Democratic nominee
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
enlisted Monique to appear in a "sequel" commercial.
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." The spot was aired during the commercial breaks of evening newscasts in
Arizona
Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
,
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
,
Iowa
Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
,
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
,
New Hampshire
New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
,
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
,
Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
, and
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
.
See also
*
Barry Goldwater 1964 presidential campaign
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luiz, Monique
1961 births
Living people
1964 United States presidential election
American child models
American expatriates in France
Articles containing video clips
Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign
Lyndon B. Johnson
People associated with the 2016 United States presidential election
People from Moselle (department)
People from Phoenix, Arizona
People from Pine Beach, New Jersey