John Farnham: Research reveals what the impact hit song has really had on voters – as support for the Voice plummets to record low

John Farnham’s official support for the Yes campaign has dramatically backfired with voters, according to a new poll.

The 74-year-old singer featured his iconic song You’re The Voice for an official campaign advert in early September – but since then, support for The Voice has plummeted to an all-time low.

The advert shows a multi-generational family watching historic Australian moments on television, including Cathy Freeman winning gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the passage of the same-sex marriage referendum, while You’re The Voice provides the tape -sound of well-being.

But a new poll finds the ad had a more negative effect on voters, with 66 per cent of undecided Australians saying it didn’t influence them at all.

“If the strategic goal of the ‘You’re the Voice’ campaign was to get people to consider voting yes, it failed,” said Howard Parry-Husbands, CEO of Pollinate. news.com.au.

Just over a third – 34 per cent – of voters said the ad had “strengthened their voting plans”, while 16 per cent of undecideds felt “more confused” after seeing it.

“Advertising is supposed to lead to changes in behavior or attitudes,” Mr Parry-Husbands said.

“On the contrary, this ad saw a hardening of opinions. This made voters no more likely to vote no and left undecided voters more confused than ever.

Simon Lee, creative director of advertising company The Hallway, admitted that the outcome of the “You’re The Voice” ad campaign was “not good”.

“It had a negative effect,” he said.

“I found the ad very emotionally powerful, but it has an underlying message that it would be un-Australian not to vote Yes.”

“I can completely understand why they took this emotional route, but the results clearly show that’s not what was needed. People want clarity, not a hug.

Mr. Lee’s company created its own pro-Yes ad called “Don’t Listen to the Galahs,” featuring a cartoon kangaroo and an emu having a reasoned discussion on the Voice, a far cry from the negative, screaming galahs.

The ad has been viewed just over 350 times on YouTube since it was posted a week ago.

It comes as support for the Yes campaign has fallen to its lowest level yet, according to a recent poll.

Just over a third of Australians – 36 per cent – say they will vote Yes to the Voice in Parliament, according to the Newspoll survey of 1,239 voters for The Australian.

This is a drop of two points in the last three weeks – the lowest level ever recorded for the beleaguered Yes campaign.

At the same time, opposition to the historic referendum increased slightly to 56 percent with less than three weeks until polling day.

The no movement spans most age groups and demographics, but most involves women and younger voters who were previously The Voice’s strongest supporters.

Women’s support fell from 41 percent to 36 percent, but the proportion saying they would vote no rose nine points to 57 percent.

At the same time, support for The Voice increased by three points among men, to 36 percent, while those with a university education also saw an increase to 54 percent.

Of most concern for the Yes campaign, however, will be the decline in support among 18-34 year olds, who constitute the strongest support base for The Voice.

Support among this demographic group fell five points to 50 percent — down from 70 percent at the start of the year — while those supporting no rose four points to 41 percent.