McCann Melbourne's campaign for Metro Trains becomes a rage

The 'Dumb Ways to Die' campaign has garnered a phenomenal 12 million views on YouTube in just five days! YouTube has confirmed that it is the fastest spreading Australian viral brand video of all time

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | November 21, 2012

Click on the image to watch the video

In an effort to reduce the number of serious and fatal accidents on its rail network, Metro Trains Melbourne has just launched a safety campaign created by McCann Melbourne, led by a new song titled 'Dumb Ways to Die'.

Described by Gawker as “impossibly winsome” and The Sydney Morning Herald as “irksomely catchy”, the 'Dumb Ways to Die' video became an instant hit within 24 hours of launch on Friday last. The song reached Australia's top 10 chart of iTunes within 24 hours and by Sunday was ranked number four on the singer/songwriter category on the global iTunes chart. It was also on the front page of Reddit for six hours over the weekend.

The campaign has also garnered a phenomenal 10 million views on YouTube in just five days and is being dubbed the 'Gangnam style of train safety'. YouTube has confirmed to media website Mumbrella on Monday that 'Dumb Ways to Die' is the fastest spreading Australian viral brand video of all time.

The catchy tune and music video are designed to clearly capture the reality of most train accidents – they're almost entirely preventable and would never happen if the people involved didn't do something dumb.

Spearheaded by a music video and song that can be downloaded from the iTunes store or via DumbWaysToDie.com,the campaign will also appear in press, through a Nova radio promotion, on Tumblr (http://dumbwaystodie.tumblr.com/), through small and large space outdoor and right throughout the Metro Trains network.

Watch the music video here:

https://img-cdn.thepublive.com/filters:format(webp)/

Chloe Alsop, Marketing Manager of Metro Trains, Australia, said, “The safety of our customers is our single most important consideration. So it's terribly sad to see so many preventable accidents or near misses on our train system. This campaign is designed to draw people to the safety message, rather than frighten them away, especially in our younger segments. We want to create a lasting understanding that you shouldn't take risks around trains, that the prospect of death or serious injury is ever-present and that we as a community need to be aware of what constitutes both safe and dumb behaviour.”

McCann Executive Creative Director John Mescall added, “We've got people eating superglue, sticking forks in toasters and selling both their kidneys. But truth is indeed stranger than fiction, and we still couldn't come up with dumber ways to die than driving around boomgates and all the other things people do to put themselves in harm's way around trains. The aim of this campaign is to engage an audience that really doesn't want to hear any kind of safety message, and we think dumb ways to die will.”

McCann National CEO Ash Farr commented, “McCann is committed to transforming brands for positive change. This campaign is another step in our strategy to demonstrate to Melbournians that Metro cares about customers, their safety and their happiness.”

Credits:
Agency: McCann Melbourne

Executive Creative Director: John Mescall
Creative Team: John Mescall, Pat Baron
Animation: Julian Frost
Digital Team: Huey Groves, Christian Stocker
Group Account Director: Adrian Mills
Account Director: Alec Hussain
Senior Account Manager: Tamara Broman
Senior Producer: Mark Bradley
Producer: Cinnamon Darvall
Composer and producer: Oliver McGill

Metro Trains:
General Manager, Corporate Relations: Leah Waymark
Marketing Manager: Chloe Alsop
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