When Present Meets Past: “Confessions”

There’s been a lot of online discussion surrounding the 1964 “Confessions of a Republican” ad, created by Doyle Dane Bernbach for the 1964 LBJ campaign. The theory is that this ad must be a fake, since the ad’s claim – in which a Republican voter is frightened of extremism within his party – is too much like what’s happening now with Donald Trump.

In 2014 I interviewed the actor who starred in this commercial. I was doing research for my new play DAISY, the true story behind the infamous 1964 television ad campaign. The actor’s name is Bill Bogert. We met in NYC near his home on the Upper West Side. We talked for about an hour. Then I asked if he wanted to watch the “Confessions” commercial. Based on the look he gave me, it had certainly been a while. Here’s the video: 

Bill Bogert “Confessions”