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experte: erfolg von wahlkampf-musikvideos ist nicht nachweisbar (original) Last Monday, the People's Party – the biggest political group in Switzerland – wanted to build up some campaign momentum with its song,“Das isch d'SVP!” (This is the People's Party!). But the plan backfired: the YouTube version managed to generate some 10,000 views before the fun was abruptly called off, as the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper first reported.
The reason: YouTube blocked the track after the Sony Music label complained about alleged infringement of copyright – the chorus of the song sounded strongly similar to the melody of the 1979 Sister Sledge track“We Are Family”.
Responding to the criticism, People's Party parliamentarian Thomas Matter told the Aargauer Zeitung that the song had nothing to do with the 1970s classic. Matter wrote the song himself, he said.
Rodgers not impressedThe composer of the original song however, producer Nile Rodgers, didn't see things that way. He wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that“We Are Family” was written as the“ultimate song about inclusion and diversity”, and condemned its use by all those who don't share such values – including the People's Party.
External Content Deshalb verurteile er die Verwendung des Songs durch die SVP oder alle anderen, die sich nicht an die Werte des Liedes und aller anständigen Menschen halten. Es seien die notwendigen Schritte eingeleitet worden, damit die SVP die Verwendung des Songs unterlässt.
Popular on the left and the rightPolitical campaign songs have for some time been seen as a way to woo voters, including in Switzerland. In 2011 for example, a Social Democrat (left-wing) politician from Bern, Roland Näf, released a trackexternal link in an effort to gain support. Four years later the Liberal Green Party did the sameexternal link .
And also in 2015, the People's Party hit the jackpot when its song“welcome to svpexternal link” attracted a million views and even entered the Swiss top 10 for a time.
Hit or miss?However, the quality of the songs varies considerably, agrees political analyst Mark Balsiger, who has written several books about political communication.
“A few are professionally produced, but a lot are made with more limited resources,” Balsiger says. The latter“sound more like scout campfire songs” – and as such can end up attracting not votes but jokes.
Success not measurableParties and politicians thus take a gamble when they decide to release a campaign song. However, it's not really possible to prove exactly how successful – or not – they are in influencing election results, Balsiger says.“When it comes to deciding who to give your vote to, your social environment is especially influential,” he says.“This is much more important than fleeting impressions during an election campaign.”
And so, even if the positive or negative impact of campaign songs can't be concretely measured, one thing is certain: some of them should perhaps be more carefully screened for quality.
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