Wisconsin's appeal for suggestions for new license plates generated more than 46,000 reponses in less than a week, but the final five designs do not include the most novel proposals: cow-shaped tags and the slogan ''Eat Cheese or Die.''

Those two ideas were rejected by Gov. Anthony S. Earl's selection committee, which narrowed the field to 20.

Governor Earl suggested the cheese slogan, perhaps inspired by the slogan on New Hampshire's plates: ''Live Free or Die.''

Wisconsin vehicles have been identified since 1979 by yellow license plates with black lettering and the slogan ''America's Dairyland.'' But last spring, State Senator John R. Plewa proposed the contest, saying, ''Ugly and boring license plates should not be accepted as a fact of life.''