Could choosing the right soundtrack help to decide who is going to be next British PM? With a General Election due later this year the political parties will be thinking about choosing the right tunes.
D:Ream’s ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ worked for New Labour and Tony Blair in 1997 (and they did, for a bit.) US politicos certainly understand these things, Donald Trump is forever enraging the likes of Bruce Springsteen by nicking their tunes.
Sonic branding agency DLMDD and audio testing company SoundOut have been researching possibles against their own list of the attributes the candidates Tory Rishi Sunak and Labour’s Keir Starmer currently stand for.
For PM Rishi Sunak (with the economy, finally, showing signs of life) it’s Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now’ by McFadden & Whitehead followed closely by ‘Here Comes the Sun’ by The Beatles (tune owners might demur of course.)
For Labour’s Keir Starmer it’s ‘Changes’ by David Bowie followed by ‘Take on Me’ by A-ha.
DLMDD co-founder Max De Lucia says: “Music and sound have an unrivalled ability to shape our emotions, shift our perceptions of a person or a brand and influence how we think, feel, behave – even vote. We wanted to have some fun with this research, using music to illustrate how people feel about our political leaders – as well as how they could tap into the power of sound to boost their chances in the General Election.”
SoundOut’s Grace Hammond says: “SoundOut’s brand-matching technology helps us understand how people feel about a brand, and then matches their perceived and desired attributes with music to transform a brand’s appeal. It’s intriguing to get this insight into public perceptions of Starmer and Sunak, as well as the tracks most likely to help them win over the public this year.”
Is there a finer example of Betteridge’s Law than Stephen’s opening sentence here?
Never has the old commonplace that no amount of advertising will sell a terrible product been more relevant.
Not even a mash up of Beethoven’s Ninth and Wagner’s Ring Cycle could move the dial for Rishi.
That’s because generating trial under false pretences is one thing – securing repeat purchase is quite another.
Opinion polling evidence overwhelmingly suggests the electorate’s view is “Won’t Get Fooled Again”.
Old school ad guys liked to quip that nothing kills a bad product faster than great advertising.
On that basis, candidates for the accidental Prime Minister’s campaign soundtrack could include “I Fought The Law (And The Law Won)” for his Supreme Court travails, “Three Time Loser” for his by-election blues, and “Gimme Shelter” for his household’s tax arrangements.
Funk fans may well feel Sunak’s performance is best summarized by Stevie Wonder’s message to Richard Nixon “You Haven’t Done Nothin’”. At least Tricky Dicky was “Elected” by the public in the first place. The hapless plutocrat at 10 Downing St doesn’t even have that consolation.
Say what you like about Keir Starmer – but you can’t deny he’s listened to the market and reformulated his offering.
On that basis, perhaps his choices could include “Back For Good”, “We Can Work It Out”, and “Clowntime Is Over”?
No doubt MAA readers will have their own suggestions.