Using the reach of mass media, each political party bombards their audiences with announcements carrying election slogans, their plans of what they aim to do, and the reforms they are going to introduce.
But are these political slogans any effective?
Well, it seems so.
Especially, considering the fact that political campaigning is pretty much advertising to gain more voters.
And at the end of the day, good campaign slogans can help give one political party an edge over the other, by helping to connect them with the audience’s need, by maintaining more recall, and by appearing much more credible.
That of course, translates into more voters.
Here is a timeline of some of the best campaign slogans that the US presidential candidates have been using over the years:
1960 – Richard Nixon
“For the Future”
More Presidential Campaign Slogans
| Year | Candidate | Slogans |
|---|---|---|
| 1840 | William Henry Harrison | Tippecanoe and Tyler Too |
| 1844 | James K. Polk | 54-40 or Fight |
| 1844 | James K. Polk | Reannexation of Texas and Reoccupation of Oregon |
| 1844 | Henry Clay | Who is James K. Polk? |
| 1848 | Zachary Taylor | For President of the People |
| 1856 | John C. Fremont | Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Speech, Free Men, and Fremont |
| 1860 | Abraham Lincoln | Vote Yourself a Farm |
| 1864 | Abraham Lincoln | Don’t Swap Horses in the Middle of the Stream |
| 1884 | Grover Cleveland | Blaine, Blaine, James G. Blaine, The Continental Liar from the State of Maine |
| 1884 | James Blaine | Ma, Ma, Where’s my Pa, Gone to the White House, Ha, Ha, Ha |
| 1888 | Benjamin Harrison | Rejuvenated Republicanism |
| 1896 | William McKinley | Patriotism, Protection, and Prosperity |
| 1896 | William McKinley | Good Money Never Made Times Hard |
| 1900 | William McKinley | A Full Dinner Pail |
| 1916 | Woodrow Wilson | He Kept Us Out Of War |
| 1920 | Warren G. Harding | Return to Normalcy |
| 1920 | Warren G. Harding | Cox and Cocktails |
| 1924 | Calvin Coolidge | Keep Cool With Coolidge |
| 1928 | Herbert Hoover | A Chicken in Every Pot and a Car in Every Garage |
| 1952 | Dwight Eisenhower | I Like Ike |
| 1956 | Dwight Eisenhower | Peace and Prosperity |
| 1960 | Richard Nixon | For the Future |
| 1964 | Lyndon B. Johnson | The Stakes are too High for You to Stay at Home |
| 1964 | Barry Goldwater | In your Heart you Know he’s Right |
| 1968 | Richard Nixon | Nixon’s the One |
| 1976 | Gerald Ford | He’s Making us Proud Again |
| 1976 | Jimmy Carter | Not Just Peanuts |
| 1976 | Jimmy Carter | A Leader, For a Change |
| 1980 | Ronald Reagan | Are you better off than you were four years ago? |
| 1984 | Ronald Reagan | It’s Morning Again in America |
| 1984 | Walter Mondale | America Needs a Change |
| 1988 | George Bush | Kinder, Gentler Nation |
| 1992 | Bill Clinton | Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow |
| 1992 | Bill Clinton | Putting People First |
| 1992 | Ross Perot | Ross for Boss |
| 1996 | Bill Clinton | Building a Bridge to the 21st Century |
| 1996 | Bob Dole | The Better Man for a Better America |
| 2000 | Al Gore | Prosperity and Progress |
| 2000 | Al Gore | Prosperity for America’s Families |
| 2000 | George W. Bush | Compassionate Conservatism |
| 2000 | George W. Bush | Leave no Child Behind |
| 2000 | George W. Bush | Real Plans for Real People |
| 2000 | George W. Bush | Reformer With Results |
| 2000 | Ralph Nader | Government Of, By, and For the People…Not the Monied Interests |
| 2004 | John Kerry | Let America be America Again |
| 2004 | George W. Bush | Yes, America Can! |
| 2008 | John McCain | Country First |
| 2008 | Barack Obama | Change We Can Believe In |
| 2008 | Barack Obama | Change We Need |
| 2008 | Barack Obama | Hope |
| 2008 | Barack Obama | Yes We Can! |
| 2012 | Barack Obama | Forward |
| 2012 | Mitt Romney | Believe in America |
Political Campaign Buttons
Also, here is an infographic showcasing promotional political campaign buttons from 1944 to 2008 of winners and losers in the US presidential elections:
