Author Meets Critics: Liking Ike: Eisenhower, Advertising, and the Rise of Celebrity Politics

This discussion centers on David Haven Blake’s book Liking Ike: Eisenhower, Advertising, and the Rise of Celebrity Politics (Oxford University Press, 2016), which examines the significance of how the successful presidential campaigns for Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower took advantage of television, advertising, spectacle, and the glamour of celebrity culture. Key topics of discussion include changes brought to American politics through Eisenhower’s campaigns in the 1950s; the role of advertising, glamour, celebrity, and spectacle in politics; parallels between Eisenhower’s campaigns and those of other US presidential candidates; the relevance of Eisenhower’s campaigns to today’s politics; and what politicians and the general public can learn from Eisenhower’s use of advertising and celebrity politics.