Newswise — David Allan, Ph.D ’99, professor of marketing at Saint Joseph’s and an expert in audiobranding, says that politicians have long been featuring songs they like and/or that fit the moment – but now their song selections appear on YouTube or social media almost instantly, provoking immediate responses from the artist and constituency.

“Music has been a part of the political process since the beginning,” says Allan, “but there has been an evolution over time from original anthems to modern, pop hits –and occasionally those hits are by artists who don’t share the candidate’s views.”

“Today, politicians are looking to music artists to help them appeal to and engage with millennials,” says Allan. “And the musicians realize this and want to have a say in who their music is helping to brand, and how.”

Allan says the use of “popular” or mainstream music in political campaigns happened around the 1930s, when then-presidential candidates like Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman first used Broadway hits alongside their slogans.

The trend continued to grow, experiencing a surge in the 1980s, when then-presidential candidate Ronald Reagan used Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA”(after Bruce Springsteen told him to stop using his “Born in the USA.”) It really took off in the 1990s when then-incumbent candidate Bill Clinton used “Don’t Stop” by Fleetwood Mac and played the sax on The Arsenio Hall Show.

By the late 2000s, social media had revolutionized the campaign game and the impact of popular music’s on a politician’s image, or “coolness factor,” skyrocketed. “Starting with the 2008 election, Obama has taken this to a whole new level,” says Allan, making reference to the president’s use of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered’ during the campaign. The pop star then performed at the inauguration ball and was among the many celebrity musicians who joined the 2012 campaign trail.

“The president’s engagement with social media and popular culture has set a new tone, and in some ways, new expectations for a political campaign.”

Following this example, Allan predicts that popular music and artist endorsement will continue to play an important role in campaigning. He is currently studying the history of this trend and exploring the impact that music has had on modern-day voters, and presented on the topic at the 2015 Mid-Atlantic Popular American Culture Association (MAPACA) Conference.

Dr. Allan can be reached for comment by contacting the University Communications office, 610-660-1222, [email protected].

David Allan, Ph.D ’99, is a leading expert on media, advertising, marketing and pop culture, with more than 20 years of experience in radio. Author of "This Note's For You: Popular Music + Advertising = Marketing Excellence" (Business Expert Press, 2015), Allan has been quoted in national news outlets, speaking on topics ranging from Michael Jackson’s post-trial career, to decency standards in the media, to Apple’s partnership with U2. Appointed to the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Subcommittee on Indecency following the Janet Jackson Super Bowl incident, he was one of the few scholars to receive two research grants from the NAB to investigate the effectiveness of radio commercial length on recall.