The British song chosen for the 2011 Rugby World Cup advertising campaign is "about selling tickets", and is not the tournament's official song, Rugby World Cup chief executive Martin Snedden says.

A cover of the Jesus Jones' song Right Here, Right Now had been recorded by New Zealand band The Feelers.

The Christchurch band's version of the song will be heard on ads for World Cup tickets, the first of which goes on sale on April 27.

But entertainer and poet Gary McCormick is angered by the choice and on Wednesday announced he was launching a campaign to change the song to a New Zealand one.

"The people of New Zealand are stumping up a couple of hundred million dollars so far and rising towards this World Cup and it's being held in New Zealand, the very least we can do is have a New Zealand song for the anthem for the World Cup," he told NZPA.

Mr Snedden said the song was not the official anthem, and was only chosen to appear in advertisements, to be played in New Zealand and overseas.

World in Union was the official Rugby World Cup song, and has been the theme of the past five world cups, he said, adding that NZ music would feature extensively during the tournament.

"There will be a heap of opportunities throughout the tournament and throughout the festival ... for New Zealand artists to be showcased," he said.

The song, originally released in 1990, was inspired by events that led to the end of the Cold War, including the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Lyrics include: "I was alive and I waited for this, Right here, right now, there is no other place I want to be."

Mr McCormick told NZPA the song choice "reeks of all that colonialism again".

"It's been sort of foisted upon us. It's not ours, and the very least we're entitled to hear is our song," he said, suggesting instead Loyal by Dave Dobbyn.

Loyal was used in NZ's 2002 America's Cup campaign, and was chosen as the country's greatest song ever in a 2006 survey.

But Prime Minister John Key has no qualms about an overseas song, saying it was a catchy tune.

"It's an international event and sometimes using an international song that's so well known makes a lot of sense," he said.

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