For those suffering through withdrawal from political advertising (really?), here’s the cure: a review of presidential campaign slogans.

Are they effective? Who knows?

Like taglines for consumer products and services, most are inane and easily forgotten. A few, however, may have been of strategic value. Here are some examples.

Some campaign slogans attempted to build name awareness:

• 1840, William Henry Harrison: “Tippecanoe And Tyler Too” (In 1811, Harrison won the battle of Tippecanoe.)
• 1928, Herbert Hoover: “Hoo but Hoover?”
• 1948, Harry Truman: “Give ‘Em Hell, Harry”
• 1952, Dwight Eisenhower: “I Like Ike”
• 1964, Lyndon Johnson: “All The Way With LBJ”
• 1964, Barry Goldwater: “AuH2O”
• 1968, Richard Nixon: “Nixon’s The One”
• 1992, Ross Perot: “Ross For Boss”

Some belittled opponents:

• 1844, Henry Clay: “Who Is James K. Polk?”
• 1884, James Blaine: “Ma, Ma, Where’s My Pa?” (Blaine’s opponent, Grover Cleveland, reportedly fathered an illegitimate child. After winning the election, Cleveland responded, “Gone To The White House. Ha! Ha! Ha!”)
• 1920, Warren G. Harding: “Cox And Cocktails” (Harding’s opponent, James Cox, opposed prohibition.)
• 1936, Franklin D. Roosevelt: “Sunflowers Die In November” (Roosevelt’s opponent was Alf Landon from Kansas, where the state flower is the sunflower.)
• 1940, Wendell Wilkie: “Roosevelt For Ex-President”
• 1976, Gerald Ford: “Don’t Settle For Peanuts” (Ford’s opponent was Jimmy Carter, a peanut farmer from Georgia.)
• 1984, Walter Mondale: “Where’s The Beef?” (He was referring to primary opponent Gary Hart.)

Some made promises:

• 1860, Abraham Lincoln: “Vote Yourself A Farm”
• 1900, William McKinley: “Four More Years Of The Full Dinner Pail”
• 1928, Herbert Hoover: “A Chicken In Every Pot And A Car In Every Garage”
• 1992, George H.W. Bush: “Read My Lips, No New Taxes”
• 2000, Al Gore: “Prosperity For America’s Families”
• 2000, George W. Bush: “Leave No Child Behind”

Some called for change:

• 1964, Barry Goldwater: “A Choice, Not An Echo”
• 1976, Jimmy Carter: “A Leader, For A Change”
• 1980, Ronald Reagan: “Are You Better Off Than You Were Four Years Ago?”
• 1984, Walter Mondale: “America Needs A Change”
• 1996, Bob Dole: “The Better Man For A Better America”
• 2008, Barack Obama: “Change We Need”

Others recommended staying the course:

• 1864, Abraham Lincoln: “Don’t Swap Horses In Midstream”
• 1916, Woodrow Wilson: “He Kept Us Out Of War” (The United States entered World War I after Wilson was reelected.)
• 1924, Calvin Coolidge: “Keep Cool With Coolidge”
• 1984, Ronald Reagan: “It’s Morning Again In America”
• 2012, Barack Obama: “Forward”

Some promised a better future:

• 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt: “Happy Days Are Here Again”
• 1960, John F. Kennedy: “We Can Do Better”
• 1992, Bill Clinton: “Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow”
• 1996, Bill Clinton: “Building A Bridge To The 21st Century”
• 2008, Barack Obama: “Hope”

Others attempted to scare:

• 1964, Lyndon B. Johnson: “The Stakes Are Too High For You To Stay At Home”
• 1968, Richard Nixon: “This Time, Vote Like Your Whole World Depended On It”
• 2000, Ralph Nader: “Government Of, By, And For The People … Not The Monied Interests”

Some advanced an ideology:

• 1988, George H.W. Bush: “Kinder, Gentler Nation”
• 2000, George W. Bush: “Compassionate Conservatism”
• 2000, George W. Bush: “Reformer With Results”
• 2008, John McCain: “Country First”
• 2008, John McCain: “Drill, Baby, Drill!”

Perhaps the most bipartisan slogan ever was expressed by presidential candidate Horace Greeley in 1872: “Throw The Rascals Out.”