Big problem with John Farnham’s Voice anthem

John Farnham’s beloved 1986 hit won’t be enough to change the tune of the referendum, a political marketing expert has warned.

It’s the song many Aussies can easily belt the lyrics to – a national anthem that rings out throughout pubs and Saturday barbecues across the country.

And over the weekend John Farnham’s ‘You’re the Voice’ became the official soundtrack to the Yes campaign, calling for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament to be enshrined in the constitution.

But according to a political marketing expert, the beloved 1986 hit won’t be enough to change the tune of the referendum, with The Australian’s latest Newspoll showing 53 per cent of Aussies intend to vote No.

“You’re the Voice is a great song, it’s a really Australian song, it’s evocative, most of us have a really powerful emotional response when it’s played but the issue is do we connect to the song personally or do we connect to the song politically? I don’t think we connect to it politically enough,” said Dr Andrew Hughes, a Lecturer at Australian National University’s Research School of Management.

Aussie music legend John Farnham has lent his iconic anthem You’re the Voice to the Yes camp in support of the Voice to Parliament. Picture: Supplied

Farnham’s track features in the History is Calling campaign. Picture: Supplied

Dr Hughes, who specialises in political communication and marketing, told news.com.au that songs like You’re the Voice have been used as effective campaign tools to influence voters by helping to drive “momentum and short term behaviour change”.

“We’ve seen campaigns in Australia where jingles work really work like ‘C’mon Aussie C’mon’ for cricket … Music adds power to advertising, it helps us recall information and it helps with likability.”

Farnham’s 80s hit, which features in the new campaign video released on Sunday, has the added bonus of resonating with Aussies aged over 55-year-old – a key strength considering 61 per cent of 50 to 64-year-olds and 66 per cent of over 65s have indicated they intend to vote No.

But Dr Hughes warns its success won’t last beyond a week.

“It will give a short term boost but because it’s 2023 and we have so many things demanding our attention out there, [the Yes campaign] will find the effects will be very short lived,” he explained.

“A week from now, we’ll be talking about something else and we would have moved on.”

It’s for this reason he said the song would have likely had a greater impact on voters if it was released closer to the referendum on October 14.

“They would have had two strategies here, run with You’re the Voice first up or do it in the last week of the campaign and part of me wonders if they should have gone with this in the last week.

“What are they going to do in the next five weeks of the campaign? They’re going to have to build that momentum up or maintain it and that’s going to be so hard,” he continued.

“The thing to look for in the next seven days is how much it’s shared by people on social media. And if you don’t see it on your own social media feeds, you know it won’t be powerful because people share what they connect with and what works really well.”

John Farnham’s hit arguably won’t be enough to change the trajectory of the No vote. Picture: Supplied.

Dr Hughes said the choice of the video’s timing is further indication the yes vote is falling behind.

“The way they’ve gone first off with the song would indicate that they need to have something that gets momentum swing back to the yes. It’s catchy at the moment and it starts the campaign really well but they’ll have to do more keep people on the Yes side and get the undecided to come to the Yes, that’s the only way they’re going to win this.”

Another challenge of the campaign is the length of video clip, which runs for over two minutes and forty seconds.

“People in the sub 30 category may watch the first 15-20 seconds of the video but whether they're going to watch it all the way through, all the time, to have the impact they need to share it, is very questionable.”

In a statement on Sunday, Farnham, who announced he was cancer-free last week, said his hit song changed his life and he hoped that “it might help, in some small way, to change the lives of our First Nations Peoples for the better”.

Tim Wheatley, the son of his late longtime manager Glenn Wheatley, added: “Win or lose this referendum, this song will forever remain on the right side of history.”

However, the song was quick to receive backlash on social media, with some slamming the singer’s choice to allow his hit to be used for politics.

“A very sad day to hear John Farnham allowing his song to be used for the Yes campaign,” one No voter wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“Selling yourself out to a divisive political stance. Have been a fan of yours for decades. You have just sold your soul to half of Australia.”

“I used to think the song ‘You’re the Voice’ was for all Australians,” another wrote. “Disappointed that John Farnham has decided to make it divisive and political.”

Compared to other campaign jingles, Dr Hughes said Farnham’s song won’t enjoy the same impact as Gough Whitlam’s ‘It’s Time’, which served as the anthem to the former Prime Minister’ victorious 1972 election campaign.

“It’s Time was effective at [creating] behaviour change because it tied in really well to the overall campaign. I don’t think You’re the Voice is going to have the same impact because it’s a different issue altogether and it’s too controversial in most people’s minds. There is also a clear base emerging for the No [camp] which will really hurt the effectiveness of the song overall.”

Instead, he said the Yes campaign needs to prioritise information over emotion, and utilise celebrities outside of the arts like former AFL player Eddie Betts and former NRL player Johnathan Thurston, to explain the details of the Voice in a staight-forward video.

“[The You’re the Voice video] still doesn’t answer those burning questions people have in that over 55 category which includes what is the Voice itself and how is it going to operate? Had they put out an ad like that, it may have been a better spring board to start the campaign off with.”

As the countdown to October referendum continues, eyes are pealed on the No campaign.

“The No [camp] have been a little bit smart here and waited for Yes to come out first with their campaign and then they will keep their steady course and say ‘we’re about facts and information’ … In a way they’re running a more considered approach.”

However, that might not count them out from adopting their own anthem.

“I think they might get someone out there who is willing to put their hand up and have their content be used,” said Dr Hughes.

“We love jingles in Australia and it would be hard for No not to use a jingle of their own.”