Dumb Ways to Die

17 Mar Dumb Ways to Die

The Dumb Ways to Die campaign was originally created in 2012 by Metro Trains Melbourne in Australia as a rail safety initiative.

It quickly became a great example the power of clever, innovative, out-of-the-box marketing, as it exploded globally to become a brand that has wildly outgrown its original purpose.

The campaign basically features colourful, naive animated characters engaging in absurdly funny and dangerous activities, with the consequence being death. Its intent is to hold up a mirror to our own dumb behaviour, hopefully encouraging us be safer.

The genius behind Dumb Ways to Die is in the way it combines morbid, dark humour with bright, childish animations and a catchy song to convey a message about public safety in an entertaining and unforgettable way.

That’s quite a departure from the usual serious, bland public service messages we’re accustomed to.

As a result, what started life as a humble, city-wide safety campaign went on to become a viral social media sensation worldwide.

Hardly surprising.

The whole concept is fresh, unique, entertaining, and hugely shareable. It couldn’t help but spread like wildfire.

The Dumb Ways to Die YouTube channel currently has over 1.3 million subscribers and over half a billion views. The TikTok channel has 8 million followers. The theme song skyrocketed onto the top iTunes charts in 28 different countries and currently has over 30 million plays in Spotify.

To this day Dumb Ways to Die is the most awarded marketing campaign in history, and has grown to become a fully-fledged gaming and entertainment brand.
The whole concept can be seen as somewhat edgy and therefore risky, but it was executed brilliantly and that risk certainly more than paid off.