Voting Station

Tony Schwartz

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Promoter

The Resume

    (August 19, 1923-June 15, 2008)
    Born in Manhattan, New York
    Sound archivist, advertising executive and media consultant
    Commercial clients included Coca-Cola, Chrysler, Kodak and American Express
    Created political ads for Hubert Humphrey, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton
    Created the 'Daisy' ad for LBJ in which the image of a young girl counting the petals she plucks off a flower morphs into a nuclear countdown and mushroom cloud
    Hosted the radio show 'Around New York' for WNYC
    Wrote 'The Responsive Chord' (1973) and 'Media: The Second God' (1982)

Why he might be annoying:

    He was an agoraphobe who rarely left his house and almost never ventured outside the local neighborhood.
    He claimed to be solely responsible for the 'Daisy' ad, which was disputed by others at the Doyle Dane Bernbach ad agency.
    The 'Daisy' ad is widely considered the start of negative TV ads in presidential campaigns.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He went blind for six months when he was 16.
    He made field recordings of the sounds of the New York streets that were released by Smithsonian Folkways on albums like 'Sounds of My City' and 'Music in the Streets.'
    He was credited as the first advertiser to use authentic children's voices in commercials.
    He created some of the first anti-smoking public service announcements.
    Thanks to modern technology, he taught media studies at Columbia, NYU and Harvard without leaving his home.
    He insisted about the Daisy ad, 'There was nothing negative about it. Frankly, I think it was the most positive commercial ever made.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 70.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 13 Votes: 53.85% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 9 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 8 Votes: 62.50% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 10 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 9 Votes: 77.78% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 16 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 20 Votes: 70.0% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 26 Votes: 57.69% Annoying