Ike for President (advertisement)

Uncle Sam, dressed as a drum major, leads a parade, including a circus elephant, followed by a crowd of people with different occupations.

"[1] The advertisement's memorable jingle turned "Ike for President" into a popular catchphrase; its final line was described by Paul Christiansen as a "party-transcending appeal to voters".

[1] Adlai Stevenson II, 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.

Dwight D. Eisenhower was the commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe during World War II, and directed the 1944 Normandy invasion.

[5][6] In the 1948 presidential election, despite numerous entreaties from organizations and prominent politicians, Eisenhower refused to enter the race,[7] asserting that running for office was not appropriate for a military general.

[30] The clip segues to Uncle Sam as a drum major leading a circus elephant who holds an Ike banner with his trunk.

[30][31][32] Following the elephant is a large parade of various people,[32] including farmers, painters, police officers, businessmen, chefs, firefighters, nurses, cowboys, bankers, pipe-fitters, teachers, and housewives,[30][31] about whom author Eric Burns writes, they "...marched in exaggerated fashion with the goofiest of facial expressions".

[36] According to Thomas A. Hollihan, its purpose was to generate name recognition and communicate that "Eisenhower enjoyed the support of people of different socioeconomic means.

"[32] 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".

[37] He refers to the narrator's closing sentence as a "party-transcending appeal to voters",[1] and wrote: ... a vote for someone beside Eisenhower must be an antipatriotic betrayal.

[1]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.

[41] 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.

[44] Rosser Reeves, the advertising expert of the Eisenhower campaign, later said, the election "...was such a landslide that (the commercial) didn't make a goddamn bit of difference".