I LIKE IKE BY DWIGHT EISENHOWER
Introduction
The ‘I Like Ike’ cartoon ad that was used by Dwight Eisenhower was one of the first campaign advertisements to be done on television. The advertisement was made for Dwight’s presidential campaign in the 1952 elections. Ike was President Dwight’s nickname. The ad was very instrumental in drumming and garnering support for the former army general as it helped him become the 34th president of the United States of America.
The ad was written by one Irving Berlin and was produced by Roy Disney. Initially, the animation had appeared in one of Irving Berlin’s musicals before it was sung at one of Eisenhower’s rallies by a Broadway actor. This was two years before Dwight would actually declare his bid for presidency. In the 1952 video, there are people marching to Washington DC all in solidarity with “Ike’s” efforts. This one minute black and white video is still memorable up to date because of its sheer simplicity and direct to the point approach. It correctly portrayed the excitement and dedication his supporters had at that time and up to date, it is still in circulation in some large mass media outlets. The idea behind the making of the video that a crowd would take Dwight to the oval office looked like the literal case. The impact of the video was evident as it created a large following for Dwight and this was also evidenced in the final voting as he won by a very wide margin.
This was made possible by the trust and confidence by the ad executives as they had faith the ad would be received positively by the public. Turrow (279) went on to say, “Ad executives must have confidence that substantial proportions of the target public will actually pay attention and look at the commercial messages as a prelude to being persuaded." The reception was actually positive as the news spread really fast. Also the public cleared had trust in the media houses not to mislead them and thus they took their word as the best way to go. This helped the advertisers maintain trust with their client as the whole project did not flop.
The slogan was first used by the Draft Eisenhower movement to drum for support and convince Dwight to run for presidency. The movement went on to become the first political draft in the 20th century that was able to take a private citizen to the white house. The grassroots movement was instrumental and largely played a part in convincing Dwight Eisenhower to take up the challenge and run for top office.
Ike had good communication skills which acted as a plus to the campaign and the slogan in general as wherever he went, there were large crowds tailing him. As such, he developed a connection with his audience where he would connect with them on a deeper level. He gave the impression of a vote for him would be a vote in the right direction. The citizens said that the 20 years under democrat control had yielded nothing and since his main competitor Adlai Stevenson was a democrat, they opted to go the other way. The other way in this scenario turned out to be voting for Dwight as president of the USA. So the dislike for the currently ruling party would also turn out to be instrumental in marshaling support for Dwight.
The main goal of the advertisement was to drum for enough support for Dwight Eisenhower to become the 34th president of the United States of America in the 1952 presidential elections. The earlier Democratic Party regime had so far failed the Americans in the two decades it had been in power and so Dwight wanted to offer the Americans an alternative or a way out to all their prevailing problems. The ad was to show the Americans that he was not only a war hero but would also be the revolutionary leader that would get them out of their gridlock of a corrupt government. Because of this, they were supposed to help him march all the way to the white house by supporting him and finally voting for him.
Another reason why the republican candidate wanted to come into power was the statement that he would end the Korean War that had already become unpopular among his fellow countrymen. Other objectives he wanted to advance were that he wanted to put the pressure on for the Soviet Union as the cold war seemed to be escalating and also act to reduce federal deficits that had been caused by the rampant corruption. All this was to counter the noninterventionism of fellow party ticket contender Robert Taft in regard to communism, corruption and the Korean War.
Corresponding slogans
The other complementary slogan that Dwight had made use of was “Korea, communism and Corruption”. This slogan coupled with “I like Ike” became a very strong arguing point as one outlined his objectives and the other acted as a chant his supporters could use in his campaigns and political rallies to show support. People also happened to have strong ill feelings towards all the three points and as such their liking Ike turned out a positive antithesis. The points were currently the bad things that had afflicted the country because the Korean War was taking a toll on its resources, they wanted to do away with communism and its being spread by the Russians and finally they wanted to root out the corruption that afflicted the government. All these problems had mostly arisen during the rule of Harry Truman who was a democrat.
Favoring Factors
This whole political advertisement scene would not have been possible if there weren’t any significant factors to back some of the claims and reasoning behind the whole campaign process. One key point that favored Dwight was the widespread unpopularity of the then president, Harry Truman. The president had a disapproval rate of sixty-six percent and the reason as to why this was so was mainly because of the raging Korean War which was entering the third year and also the cold war was apparently heating up again. The public disclosure about rampant corruption amongst federal employees did not do the Democratic Party government any favors too and it caused a public uproar. This further went on to sink not only Truman’s bid for another term but also any viable chances for the democrats to wage a successful bid for the next presidential elections.
Eisenhower was also a decorated war hero and according to a poll conducted in March 1952, Dwight turned out to be the most admired living American at the time; this was replicated again in the 1968 poll by Gallup that stated “Eisenhower is still the most admired American still living” (67). Dwight was a hero of World War 2 and he further went on to lead the newly assembled NATO forces in Europe. By the time the man retired, he was a five star general and had been able to serve in a number of posts in the US army (Ambrose 132). His efforts in the formation and running of NATO affairs were also very much commendable and so he had built a very strong credibility base. This was all just before his run for presidency. Due to his service in the military, whenever he talked about the Korean War or even the cold war, people actually paid attention. Bottom line is, he was really popular and people really liked him and so the slogan fitted him perfectly and worked to his favor in every possible way. Public opinion was therefore an important enabler (Warner 290). The decision that Dwight was a good candidate was a rational one as they could measure his merit. Also the efforts by the draft Eisenhower movement cause a public discussion about the competency of Dwight as a potential president. The public weighed the pros and cons and settled on him as a good candidate as compared to what the opposition had to offer.
The people did not like the other probable candidate who was supposed to become the flag bearer of the Republican Party at that time. The candidate happened to be the Ohio senator, Robert Taft. Initially Taft had been considered by insiders as the front runner to bear the republican candidacy but due to his isolationist approach and also efforts by the Draft Eisenhower movement, he was dropped for Dwight. Earlier, Taft had voted against NATO but Dwight saw the NATO as a front to fight communism and also advance other collective security efforts. Before he left for his NATO post in Paris, Dwight Eisenhower made sure to meet Taft in January 1951. Taft’s hardline stance was further revealed to the public because Dwight offered him a deal where Taft would support the NATO and in return he would not advance his bid for presidency. This is an offer that Taft turned down and had he known earlier what would have transpired in the future, he would have graciously taken up the offer. Dwight was able to defeat him without even having to campaign. Another reason the ad was taken up so well by the media houses was because of what they had to gain. TV networks tend to lay more emphasis on products that have corporate benefits tied to them and as such other products are given a back seat. In the case of the ad, it seems more likely that there was much to gain with Dwight in power than having Aldai. The media houses therefore paid more attention to Dwight’s ads and gave little airplay to the ones by his competitors. Hardy (84) goes on to state, "All the major TV networks are owned by vertically integrated media conglomerates, and this has increased pressure on news programs to exploit those ties by promoting allied content and services, notably entertainment found that network news shows covered the products of their related companies more frequently and more favorably than products in which they had no financial interest.
Another important enabling factor was the access and manipulation of voter data. Political candidates need all the relevant data about voters they can possibly get and this data is even bought. The data that they require ranges from congressional distincts, telephone numbers, party data, ethnicity, voter history data, GIS and census data (Warner 289). This data enables them to formulate outreach policies and also come up with accurate predictions concerning the current voter trend. They are thus able to discern the most viable means to woo voters and gain their support.
The advertisement and Slogan
The whole campaigning process was made a success partly because of the simplistic and highly effective advertisement. The television ad gave the true impression of the exact reality of how things were on the ground. Dwight was the candidate who the people were taking to the white house. The melody was also interesting and easy to chant to even by small children as so it stuck. The coupling of the slogan with a more powerful message was also a plus as people were jogged into reality and they tied their feelings towards certain issues that the slogan was able to raise. As such they had great dislike for the opponent’s political party and not particularly the opponent as an individual or his policies.
The effectiveness of the whole advertisement and slogan was pretty evident as Dwight would go ahead to win two of the preliminary elections without campaigning. Furthermore, he was out of the country as he was in France serving in the NATO that meant his opponents and competitors had all the time and resources to campaign. Both Dwight and Adlai boasted of eloquence but the advertisement is what further propelled him to greater popularity. This is proved by the fact that there was no known or otherwise popular slogan or advertisement carried out by the Adlai group. This is a clear indication of the power of advertising and branding as it helps one create not only awareness but a fanatic ground for support. This is exactly what Dwight’s opponent largely lacked.
The importance of advertising is to spread the word, create an impression to the target audience and give them something they can be able to relate to by seeing potential or actual benefits. This is usually regardless of the fact that the information being provided is exaggerated or accurate as the important thing is to get to tilt the balance and rake in numbers to your side. Dwight’s supporters and people who believed in him understood this and went to drum support for him. Popularity was also a contributing factor but if advertisements and making of slogans were entirely nonexistent, then he would have probably not won or he would not have won by the margin he did.
The advertisement was being used to serve two main purposes. One was to discredit the opposition but using a softer and open approach that would show the public that they were not hardliners or extremists. This was done by highlighting the current problems but instead of pilling blame on the opposition, they provided solutions to the issues at hand. This was a very welcome approach that was endorsed by the public. The other purpose was to bring into light the positive attributes of Dwight as a candidate for presidency. This would add on to the already good image of the Dwight as a war hero. In the year 2003 The New York Times went on to write “Perhaps the initial refusal by the man was also a campaign strategy but the relentless campaign and advertisement efforts surely bore fruit as they were able to achieve the ultimate goal which was taking Dwight to white house” (Np).
Conclusion
The whole campaign and advertisement turned out a great success as Dwight Eisenhower won by a land slide against his competitor Adlai Stevenson. He was able to post victories in the Electoral College in both races against his competitor that showed just how much he was immensely supported by the people of America. According to the theme of the animated video, the crowd did actually take him to the white house. The use of the cartoon that looked more like a entertainment stunt turned out effective as “entertainment cross-promotion may be normalized as marketing or it is sometimes accepted with resignation as soft news (Harold 85). In this case it was taken in as soft news as the public was able to relate to the message being passed across. His whole campaign strategy was also well formulated around the key issues that were causing unrest to Americans and this easily made him a darling to the masses. In his advertisements and campaigns, he also showed a new level of connection between him and the normal citizen. This therefore helped him warm his way to many hearts and showed his relevance and helpfulness in solving the current problems afflicting the Americans.
In commercial marketing, the ultimate goal is attracting consumers to a specific brand or producer. More customers translate to profits for the client. This is what gives the media houses credibility. As for political marketing the goal is usually the same. Politicians are usually seeking numbers and in this case they turn to the media houses to expand their campaigns and reach out to greater masses. In this case profits to them are votes. So political and commercial marketing are therefore similar as warner (288) said they are geared towards winning a loyal customer base or followers in the case of politics.
The Dwight Draft Eisenhower commission in 2004 wrote, “The whole “I like Ike” campaign had proved to be a success as it had initially been a move to convince the war veteran to join the presidential race and it ended with him in the oval office” (14). This was a request he kept turning down on many occasions. The support was so immense that he would even be included in the New Hampshire Primary ballot without his consent (Pusey 4). The support went to the point that he was finally convinced to vie. The same support was also accorded to him during the final election and he won by a very large margin. This was all made possible because of the power of advertising in campaigns. That small voice that was initially the Draft Eisenhower movement grew to a force to reckon with and everybody threw his support behind the person in the advert. What seems evident is that this movement had very qualified and capable individuals to carry out the whole campaign process. It is highly likely that the involved individuals included experts in advertising, marketing, opposition research, fundraising, public relations, media and polling. Ike is accredited as being among the first politicians to use a TV ad to marshal for support and since then, it has become common place to see politicians use TV ads to campaign. Some even borrowed previously used ads and slogans to drum for support in all parts of the country in the future elections that were held. These all served to take a man to the white house but another underlying lesson turned out to be the importance of advertising and its impact on the masses.
Works Cited
D. D. Eisenhower Commission. “Ike Offers Not to Run for President”. The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission. Pg. 14. 2004. Print
Pusey. M. J. “Eisenhower the President”. The presidential rhetoric, past and present. Macmillan. pp. 4, 6 – 14, 17 – 18, 22, 45 – 46. 1956. Print
New York Times. "Truman Wrote of '48 Offer to Eisenhower" The New York Times. N. page. Retrieved 11 July 2003. Web
Phillip Wrought. “Presidential campaign commercials 1952-2012. 1952 Eisenhower vs. Stevenson”. The living room candidate. N. page. 2012. Web
Gallup. “Presidential campaign rhetoric. 1932-1964 campaigns. 1952- “I like Ike” Cartoon ad”. The moving image museum. Pg. 67. April 8, 2011. Web
Ambrose S. E. Eisenhower: Soldier, General of the Army and President-Elect, 1890–1952. Pg. 132. 1983. Print
