The narrative is intriguing due to the way it deals with the usually sombre topic of death. Each separate platform told the same story and had the same characters, while creating their own individual charm by using the strengths of their respective platform. Therefore, the narrative effectively is that there are many ‘dumb’, easily avoidable ways to die, and being hit by a train is one of these.įollowing this, McCann Melbourne continued to release additional content on multiple platforms (which is explained in more detail in the next section). It ended with a reference to the main point: railway safety. The video featured a cute song with morbidly ‘funny’ cartoon characters dying in ridiculous ways. The first step for McCann Melbourne and Metro Trains was to produce and record a music video entitled ‘Dumb Ways To Die’. Typical train safety PSA’s have often used the ‘shock’ tactic (Operation Lifesaver, 2016). While it is hard to attribute this result directly to the campaign, it is a positive statistic that does help argue that the campaign has been effective. But more importantly, following the campaign, Metro Trains found a 21% reduction in train station incidents (Brand News, 2013). Various covers were produced by different artists and the song was used in school as an effective method for teaching safety. The campaign also included user participation through a smart phone app. This was implemented to try and actively change people’s behaviour, rather than stop at a public message. Nearly all aspects of the campaign pushed people towards the website where they could push the button and make the pledge to train safety.
Radio advertising also played a roll in spreading the message, which was so successful radio stations started playing the song for free.Īs the song gained so much attention and momentum, the PSA was further expanded to include train station/public posters and billboards, a children’s book and a website where people could ‘make the pledge’ to be safe around train stations. It became the Internet’s most shared video in 2012. Dumb Ways to Die sky-rocketed up the iTunes charts (iTunes, 2012).Ī dedicated Tumblr page also accompanied the campaign which pushed the PSA to go viral.
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