A president’s campaign slogan is what sways the public into voting for them. It should be catchy, brief and should show great promise. Hence a slogan has a very crucial and important place in a presidential election.
Here is a list of 10 famous campaign slogans of U.S. Presidents.
1) I like Ike- 1952, Dwight E. Eisenhower
‘I like Ike’ is one of the most famous presidential campaign slogans in U.S. presidential history. It was the campaign slogan for Dwight E. Eisenhower, nicknamed Ike. ‘I like Ike’ was a short ad specifically designed for the presidential campaign of Eisenhower. It featured cartoon characters singing along to a catchy tune of I like Ike. He won the election the following year as well by simply rewording his slogan as ‘I still like Ike’.
2) A time for greatness- 1960, John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy ran for the presidency in 1960, simply with the inspirational slogan ‘A time for greatness’.
3) Nixon’s the one- 1968, Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon was campaigning during a turbulent time in America. During this time Nixon waged an advertising campaign in which he made a promise to end the war with Vietnam. He advocated this in such a way that media thought he had a secret plan to do so. His campaign slogan further encouraged people to vote for him. He made people see that Nixon’s the one and they should vote as if the whole world depended on it.
4) A leader, for a change- 1976, Jimmy Carter
Nixon resigned after the watergate scandal, following which Jimmy Carter took up the office of the president. His presidential campaign slogan was ‘A leader, for a change’, in which he painted himself as honest, fair, truthful and decent.
5) Let’s make America great again- 1980, Ronald Reagan
Doesn’t this phrase sound awfully familiar? Well, strike one word off and it becomes the campaign slogan for U.S. President Donald Trump. Reagan used it first during his 1980 presidential election.
6) Kinder, Gentler Nation- 1988, George H.W. Bush
Kinder, Gentler Nation was the presidential campaign slogan of George H.W. Bush, also known as George Bush Sr. His campaign slogan was a message to the people that there exists something called as reliable love.
7) A safer world, and more hopeful America- 2004, George W. Bush
After the 9/11 attacks, America was shaken as a nation. Geroge W. Bush ran for president and he emphasised on creating a safer world and a more hopeful America.
8) Change we can believe in- 2008, Barack Obama
Barack Obama is the first African-America U.S. President. His presidential campaign slogan was that we can believe in change. When he campaigned this phrase, his followers shouted in support that ‘yes we can!’. His was the first presidential campaign slogan which made full use of the newly emerging social media platforms.
9) Forward- 2012, Barack Obama’s reelection campaign slogan
Forward, was the one-word campaign slogan for Obama’s 2012 presidential elections. Via this word, he pledged to build on the progress achieved during his first term.
10) Make America great again- 2016, Donald Trump
Donald Trump used the campaign slogan ‘Make America Great Again’ during the 2016 U.S presidential elections. Although a slight variation was already used by U.S. President Ronald Reagan. Trump, however, was unaware of this fact and since Reagan did not trademark it, Trump had an attorney register it as his campaign slogan.
