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"Ike for President", sometimes referred to as "We'll Take Ike" or "I Like Ike", was a political television advertisement for Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidential campaign in
1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...
. The minute-long animated advertisement was conceived by
Jacqueline Cochran Jacqueline Cochran (May 11, 1906 – August 9, 1980) was an American pilot and business executive. She pioneered women's aviation as one of the most prominent racing pilots of her generation. She set numerous records and was the first woman to br ...
, a pilot and Eisenhower campaign aide, and
Roy O. Disney Roy Oliver Disney ( ; June 24, 1893 – December 20, 1971) was an American entrepreneur who co-founded the Walt Disney Company with his younger brother, Walt Disney. He also served as the company's first CEO and was the father of Roy E. Di ...
of
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
, and produced by Disney volunteers. The ad's music was written by composer
Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Acade ...
. It begins with a bouncing "Ike"
campaign button A campaign button is a pin used during an election as political advertising for (or against) a candidate or political party, or to proclaim the issues that are part of the political platform. In the United States, political buttons date as far ba ...
.
Uncle Sam Uncle Sam (with the same initials as ''United States'') is a common national personification of the United States, depicting the federal government of the United States, federal government or the country as a whole. Since the early 19th centu ...
, dressed as a drum major, leads a parade, including a circus elephant, followed by a crowd of people with different occupations. Democratic vice presidential candidate
John Sparkman John Jackson Sparkman (December 20, 1899 – November 16, 1985) was an American jurist and politician from the state of Alabama. A Southern Democrat, Sparkman served in the United States House of Representatives from 1937 to 1946 and the United ...
, Secretary of State
Dean Acheson Dean Gooderham Acheson ( ; April 11, 1893October 12, 1971) was an American politician and lawyer. As the 51st United States Secretary of State, U.S. Secretary of State, he set the foreign policy of the Harry S. Truman administration from 1949 to ...
, and President
Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...
are depicted as Democratic donkeys. The spot's narrator concludes: "Now is the time for all good Americans to come to the aid of their country." The advertisement's memorable
jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meanings that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...
turned "Ike for President" into a popular catchphrase; its final line was described by Paul Christiansen as a "party-transcending appeal to voters".
Adlai Stevenson II Adlai Ewing Stevenson II (; February 5, 1900 – July 14, 1965) was an American politician and diplomat who was the United States ambassador to the United Nations from 1961 until his death in 1965. He previously served as the 31st governor of Ill ...
, Eisenhower's opponent, felt that the ad trivialized serious political issues and referred to it as the worst thing he ever heard. Eisenhower's organization planned to broadcast the advertisement five to six times every night during the final two weeks of the campaign in a few targeted areas. Eisenhower won
the election ''The Election'' () is a political drama series produced by Hong Kong Television Network (HKTV). With a budget of HK$15 million, filming started in July 2014 and wrapped up on 28 October 2014. Popularly voted to be the inaugural drama of ...
in a
landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslides ...
, though his campaign's advertising expert thought the ad made little difference. ''
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 later ranked "Ike for President" eighth in its list of the top ten campaign advertisements.


Background


Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...
was the commander of the
Allied Expeditionary Force Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in northwest Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. US General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the commander in SHAEF thro ...
in Europe during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and directed the 1944
Normandy invasion Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 ( D-Day) with the ...
. After the war, he served as the Chief of Staff of the Army from 1945 to 1948. He was an extremely popular figure in the late 1940s, and he frequently topped the " most admired man" poll conducted by
Gallup Gallup may refer to: * Gallup, Inc., a firm founded by George Gallup, well known for its opinion poll * Gallup (surname), a surname *Gallup, New Mexico, a city in New Mexico, United States ** Gallup station, an Amtrak train in downtown Gallup, New ...
. In the
1948 presidential election The following elections occurred in the year 1948. Previous: List of elections in 1947 Next:List of elections in 1949 Africa * 1948 Mauritian general election * 1948 South African general election * 1948 Southern Rhodesian general election Asia ...
, despite numerous entreaties from organizations and prominent politicians, Eisenhower refused to enter the race, asserting that running for office was not appropriate for a military general. After the election, Eisenhower began to associate more closely with Republican politics, and in the lead-up to the 1952 election he faced renewed pressure to declare his candidacy as a Republican, though he remained reluctant.
Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Acade ...
included a song titled "They Like Ike" in the Broadway musical ''
Call Me Madam ''Call Me Madam'' is a Broadway musical written by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. The musical is a satire on politics and foreign policy that spoofs postwar America's penchant for lending billions ...
'', and a rally at
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
featured thousands of Eisenhower supporters chanting "I like Ike". Various newspaper editors endorsed Eisenhower's presidential candidacy, and politicians from both the Democratic and Republican parties supported him. In January 1952,
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
senator
Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (July 5, 1902 – February 27, 1985) was an American diplomat and politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate and served as United States Ambassador to the United Nations in the administration of Pre ...
entered Eisenhower's name in the presidential primary in
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 ...
, angering Eisenhower; he won anyway. After his victory in New Hampshire and a narrow loss in
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
, he decided to join the presidential race. In July, the
Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...
nominated him for president, with Senator
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
as his running mate. They faced the Democratic presidential
ticket Ticket or tickets may refer to: Slips of paper * Lottery ticket * Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start) * Toll ticket, a slip of paper used to indicate where vehicles entered a to ...
of
Adlai Stevenson II Adlai Ewing Stevenson II (; February 5, 1900 – July 14, 1965) was an American politician and diplomat who was the United States ambassador to the United Nations from 1961 until his death in 1965. He previously served as the 31st governor of Ill ...
and
John Sparkman John Jackson Sparkman (December 20, 1899 – November 16, 1985) was an American jurist and politician from the state of Alabama. A Southern Democrat, Sparkman served in the United States House of Representatives from 1937 to 1946 and the United ...
.


Television advertising

By 1952, approximately 40 percent of Americans had a television, and the 1952 election was the first presidential election in which television played an important role. The Eisenhower campaign launched a series of television commercials titled "Eisenhower Answers America", the first spot ad campaign by an American presidential candidate.
BBDO BBDO is a worldwide advertising agency network, with its headquarters in New York City. The agency originated in 1891 with the George Batten Company, and in 1928, through a merger with Barton, Durstine & Osborn (BDO), the agency became Batten, B ...
was responsible for handling the radio and television programming for Eisenhower's campaign. Total media expenditure for the election is estimated to range from $2 million (equivalent to $ million in ) to over $6 million (equivalent to $ million in ).


Creation

On September 30, 1952,
Jacqueline Cochran Jacqueline Cochran (May 11, 1906 – August 9, 1980) was an American pilot and business executive. She pioneered women's aviation as one of the most prominent racing pilots of her generation. She set numerous records and was the first woman to br ...
, a pilot, cosmetic business executive, and one of Eisenhower's campaign aides, wrote to
Roy O. Disney Roy Oliver Disney ( ; June 24, 1893 – December 20, 1971) was an American entrepreneur who co-founded the Walt Disney Company with his younger brother, Walt Disney. He also served as the company's first CEO and was the father of Roy E. Di ...
, co-founder of
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
, about a proposed advertisement which she had discussed with John Hay "Jock" Whitney. She speculated it could be "the greatest piece of propaganda in this whole campaign". Two days later, she wrote to artist George L. Carlson about the animated cartoon, which she called "We Like Ike." Calling it the "most extraordinary one minute short," she told him that many people, including
Paul G. Hoffman Paul Gray Hoffman (April 26, 1891October 8, 1974) was an American automobile company executive, statesman, and global development aid administrator. He was the first administrator of the Economic Cooperation Administration, where he led the imp ...
and
Paul Helms Paul Hoy Helms (September 19, 1889 – January 5, 1957) was an American executive in the baking industry and sports philanthropist. He founded the Helms Bakery in 1931 and the Helms Athletic Foundation with Bill Schroeder in 1936. Early life ...
were impressed by the idea. Helms had donated $1,000 () for production of the advertisement. Because Disney was a
union shop In labor law, a union shop, also known as a post-entry closed shop, is a form of a union security clause. Under this, the employer agrees to either only hire labor union members or to require that any new employees who are not already union mem ...
, its work rules prohibited any partisan political activity. The work for the advertisement was undertaken by unpaid volunteers outside working hours. Two animated spots were produced by the Disney Studio staff. Gil George and Paul Smith wrote the lyrics and the music. The advertisement, initially called "We'll Take Ike", is also known as "I Like Ike" and "Ike for President."


Synopsis

The animated 60-second commercial begins with a bouncing Ike
campaign button A campaign button is a pin used during an election as political advertising for (or against) a candidate or political party, or to proclaim the issues that are part of the political platform. In the United States, political buttons date as far ba ...
as music plays in the background. The clip segues to
Uncle Sam Uncle Sam (with the same initials as ''United States'') is a common national personification of the United States, depicting the federal government of the United States, federal government or the country as a whole. Since the early 19th centu ...
as a drum major leading a circus
elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...
(representing the
Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
) who holds an Ike banner with his trunk. The elephant is wearing a caricature of Eisenhower around its body and beating a drum with its tail. Following the elephant is a large parade of various people, including farmers, painters, police officers, businessmen, chefs, firefighters, nurses, cowboys, bankers, pipe-fitters, teachers, and housewives, about whom author Eric Burns writes, they "...marched in exaggerated fashion with the goofiest of facial expressions". The ad then cuts to three
donkeys The donkey or ass is a domesticated equine. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a separate species, ''Equus asinus''. It was domes ...
(representing the Democrats). The music continues: "We don't want John or Dean or Harry / Let's do that big job right", referring to
John Sparkman John Jackson Sparkman (December 20, 1899 – November 16, 1985) was an American jurist and politician from the state of Alabama. A Southern Democrat, Sparkman served in the United States House of Representatives from 1937 to 1946 and the United ...
, Secretary of State
Dean Acheson Dean Gooderham Acheson ( ; April 11, 1893October 12, 1971) was an American politician and lawyer. As the 51st United States Secretary of State, U.S. Secretary of State, he set the foreign policy of the Harry S. Truman administration from 1949 to ...
, and President
Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...
. As the parade continues, an unidentified man rides a donkey in shadows towards the left. The music interposes: "Let Adlai go the other way / We'll all go with Ike". The Capitol building appears, festooned with an Ike banner. A
close-up A close-up or closeup in filmmaking, television production A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, s ...
of the Capitol dome and the rising sun turns into an Ike campaign button. The narrator concludes: "Now is the time for all good Americans to come to the aid of their country."


Analysis

The advertisement used name repetition as the core of its catchy
jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meanings that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...
: the phrase "Ike for President" is repeated 19 times. Author
Victor Kamber Victor Samuel Kamber (born May 7, 1943) is an American labor union activist and political consultant in the United States. A Democrat, he worked for the AFL-CIO in the 1970s before forming The Kamber Group, a public relations firm, in 1980. The K ...
called "Ike for President" a positive advertisement. According to Thomas A. Hollihan, its purpose was to generate
name recognition In politics, name recognition is the ability a voter has to identify a candidate's name due to a certain amount of previous exposure through various campaigning methods. It can be described as the awareness voters have about specific candidates r ...
and communicate that "Eisenhower enjoyed the support of people of different socioeconomic means." Dennis W. Johnson said the main goal was to "drive home a consistent, simple message: 'I Like Ike, remarking that it "has to be one of the best presidential slogans ever created". Paul Christiansen wrote that in "Ike for President", although Eisenhower's name receives a tonal emphasis, the word ''president'' is unstressed and is on the
submediant In music, the submediant is the sixth degree () of a diatonic scale. The submediant ("lower mediant") is named thus because it is halfway between the tonic and the subdominant ("lower dominant") or because its position below the tonic is symm ...
and leading tone. He speculated that this emphasizes Eisenhower the man and implies that his personality is greater than the presidency. The musical jingle begins in
D major D major is a major scale based on D (musical note), D, consisting of the pitches D, E (musical note), E, F♯ (musical note), F, G (musical note), G, A (musical note), A, B (musical note), B, and C♯ (musical note), C. Its key signature has two S ...
but changes to
F major F major is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat.Music Theory'. (1950). United States: Standards and Curriculum Division, Training, Bureau of Naval Personnel. 28. Its relati ...
; its
tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...
is constant at 120 beats per minute. Christiansen contrasts "Ike for President" and the spiritual " All God's Chillun Got Wings"; he compares "You like Ike, I like Ike, everybody likes Ike" to "I got wings, you got wings, all God's chillun got wings". He refers to the narrator's closing sentence as a "party-transcending appeal to voters", and wrote:
... a vote for someone beside Eisenhower must be an antipatriotic betrayal. It is a call for all ''good'' Americans to come to the aid of 'their' party, after all. Good Americans belong to the Republican Party, it would seem. Voting for Eisenhower is presented here as a patriotic act that is for the good of the nation, leaving the converse proposition unspoken: are those voting for Stevenson ''unpatriotic''?


Aftermath

The "Ike for President" advertisement was sent to television stations in select American cities; the Eisenhower media plan was to broadcast it in targeted areas five to six times every night during the final two weeks of the campaign. Cochran paid over $2,700 () to produce over 400 duplicates of the spot. The Eisenhower campaign created other commercials featuring Eisenhower's wife Mamie, which were considered an indirect attack against the
divorced Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...
Stevenson. Reacting to the commercial, Stevenson said: "This isn't
Ivory Soap Ivory () is an American flagship personal care brand created by the Procter & Gamble Company (P&G), including varieties of white and mildly scented bar soap that became famous for its claim of purity and for floating on water. Over the years, t ...
versus Palmolive". Later, he called "Ike for President" the worst thing he ever heard, and said that Eisenhower is "selling the presidency like cereal ... How can you talk seriously about issues with one-minute spots?" Stevenson's campaign spent 95 percent of its television budget on broadcasting his 30-minute speeches. Although the speeches attracted a huge audience, authors Edwin Diamond and Stephen Bates speculated that most Stevenson viewers were already committed to voting for him. The Stevenson campaign created the "I Love the Gov" advertisement in response to "Ike for President". Eisenhower won the election with 55.2% of the popular vote, defeating Stevenson by a margin of 353 electoral votes.
Rosser Reeves Rosser Reeves (10 September 1910 – 24 January 1984) was an American people, American advertising executive and pioneer of television advertising; Reeves generated millions for his clients. The Ted Bates (executive), Ted Bates agency, where he ...
, the advertising expert of the Eisenhower campaign, later said, the election "...was such a
landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslides ...
that (the commercial) didn't make a goddamn bit of difference". Roy O. Disney wrote to Cochran ten days after the election, saying that the "boys and girls all enjoyed working on the project and, of course, we are all very happy at the outcome of the election". ''
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 ranked "Ike for President" eighth in its list of the top ten campaign advertisements.


See also

*
Checkers speech The Checkers speech or Fund speech was an address made on September 23, 1952, by Senator Richard Nixon ( R- CA), six weeks before the 1952 United States presidential election, in which he was the Republican nominee for Vice President. Nixon had ...


Note


References


Works cited


Books

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Journals and articles

* * * * * * * * *


Further reading

*


External links


Bill Anderson's letter to Cochran, November 19, 1952
— via
Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home The Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home is the presidential library and museum of Dwight David Eisenhower, the 34th president of the United States (1953–1961), located in his hometown of Abilene, Kansas. The ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ike for President (advertisement) 1950s television commercials 1952 United States presidential election 1952 works Articles containing video clips Dwight D. Eisenhower Political campaign advertisements Presidential campaign songs