One of the main reason why the Davy Cockett craze occured was because of the television and its great influence over consumers. The Crockett campaign was one that occured at an opportune era. Randy Robert reports that the Davy Crockett series aired in the 1954-1955 years,when the television was starting to get popular as evinced by the fact the percent of households having television increased from 7 percent to 58 percent from 1950 to 1955. Margaret Kings also observes that the Davy Crockett had one of the largest audiences the era had to offer, the baby boom. Davy Crockett was a figure marketable to all children, boy or girl, from ages 2 to 12. Television David Karp once remarked that TV “is an advertising medium….They are not supposed to be any good. They are supposed to make money.” In this case, the television’s potential was proven. Everything Davy related went off the shelf from toy guns and knives to his trademark coonskin hat. In fact the demand of the coonskin hat greatly increased the cost of the skin from 25 cents per pound to almost 8 dollars in some regions. The TV was so powerful that even non-Davy related items were enjoying the benefits. Davy soap, Davy towels, Davy clothes, Davy blankets were all popular. Such was the power of the tube at that time.
But Davy Crockett didn’t become popular just because of his presence on the small screen. He had to have had a quality that could connect to the people at the time. The quality of the real Davy Crockett didn’t matter; only the way he was portrayed did. Davy was seen as a war hero comparable to one who fought in the Cold War. Roberts compares the setting of Crockett to America at the time. Both places appeared to be an area where liberty was under siege. In the movie it was Texas fighting Santa Anna. In real life, the fights of the Communist spread occured in many nations such as Korea and parts of Europe. The Alamo siege was even compared to that of other American defeats. The enemy were depicted as generic soldiers swarming over the walls to victory. In both cases, the heroes held their position even when they faced overwhelming odds in manpower.
The content of the portrayal of Davy Crockett helped his fame by connecting himself to the hearts of many Americans. But it was only through the power of television that the Crockett craze reached its highest potential. With its large audience and commercials, it can be said that television was a integral part of the craze.