Dumb Ways to Die
A screenshot from the animated video during the song's final chorus presenting the characters and their resulting deaths (except Clod)
AgencyMcCann
ClientMetro Trains Melbourne
MarketVictoria, Australia
Release date(s)2012–present

Dumb Ways to Die is an Australian public campaign made by Metro Trains in Melbourne, Victoria to promote railway safety. The campaign video went viral on social media after it was released in November 2012. The campaign's animation was developed into an app available to iOS and Android devices.[1]

On 1 October 2021, PlaySide Studios acquired the Dumb Ways to Die franchise for A$2.25 million from Metro.[2] PlaySide Studios also released an NFT called BEANS on 3 February 2022.

Campaign

The campaign was devised by advertising agency McCann Melbourne. It appeared in newspapers, local radio and outdoor advertising throughout the Metro Trains network and on Tumblr.[3] John Mescall, executive creative director of McCann, said "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."[3] McCann estimated that within two weeks, it had generated at least $50 million worth of global media value in addition to more than 700 media stories, for "a fraction of the cost of one TV ad".[4] According to Metro Trains, the campaign contributed to a 20 per cent reduction in "near-miss" accidents compared to the annual average,[5] or 30% with respect to the same time of the year before from 13.29 near-misses per million kilometres in November 2011 – January 2012, to 9.17 near-misses per million kilometres in November 2012 – January 2013.[6]

Animated video

The video was art directed by Patrick Baron, animated by Julian Frost and produced by Cinnamon Darvall.[3] It was uploaded to YouTube on 14 November 2012 and made public two days later. It featured characters known as "beans", each bearing names such as "Numpty," "Hapless," "Pillock," and "Dippy" (the first four beans in the video, listed in order of appearance) dying as a result of their own stupidity (doing such unwise things as setting their own hair on fire or provoking a grizzly bear); the final three beans shown in the video, named "Stumble", "Bonehead", and "Putz", all die as a result of unsafe behavior at train stations and/or railways, which are deemed "the dumbest ways to die".

The animated video has two versions, one in English, and one in Spanish, titled "Formas Tontas de Morir."

Song

"Dumb Ways to Die"
Cover parodying Abbey Road
Song by Tangerine Kitty
Released1 November 2012 (2012-11-01)
GenreFolk pop
Length3:00
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Ollie McGill
  • John Mescall
  • Patrick Baron

The song "Dumb Ways to Die" from the video was written by John Mescall and co created with Patrick Baron, music by Ollie McGill from the Cat Empire, who also produced it.[7] It was performed by Emily Lubitz, the lead vocalist of Tinpan Orange, with McGill providing backing vocals.[1] The band on the recording consists of Gavin Pearce on bass, Danny Farrugia on drums and Brett Wood on guitar.[8] It was released on iTunes, attributed to the artist "Tangerine Kitty" (a reference to Tinpan Orange and The Cat Empire).[1][9] The song, with a tempo of 128 beats per minute, is written in C major and a time signature of 4/4.[10]

Charts
Chart (2012–13) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[11] 9
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[12] 94
UK Indie (OCC)[13] 38

Video games

Dumb Ways to Die
Developer(s)Julian Frost
Samuel Baird
Publisher(s)Playside Studios
Metro Trains Melbourne (formerly)
PopReach
EngineUnity
Platform(s)iOS, Android
ReleaseiOS
  • WW: 6 May 2013
Android
  • WW: 17 September 2013
Genre(s)Action game, Puzzle game
Mode(s)Single-player

On 6 May 2013, Metro released a Dumb Ways to Die game as an app for iOS devices.[14][15] The game, developed by Julian Frost, Patrick Baron and Samuel Baird,[16] invites players to avoid the dangerous activities engaged in by the various characters featured throughout the campaign.[17] Within the app, players can also pledge to "not do dumb stuff around trains."[18][19] The activities include things like getting toast out with a fork and poking a stick at a grizzly bear. An Android version was released in September 2014.[20]

The current highscore for the game is currently held by TikTok live streamer King "imkingb" Boss at 52,134 points. [21]

The game is similar to games in the WarioWare series. The game presents minigames based on the animated music video in rapid succession and becomes faster and more difficult the longer the game is played.[22]

A sequel titled Dumb Ways to Die 2: The Games was released on 18 November 2014. In the sequel, there are a lot more varieties of challenges in each particular building, and each building has a particular theme. Before a train arrives at a building, the player plays a challenge to counter something related to trains. If successful, bonus points can be earned at the end of the game. There are 8 challenges each in every building. Like the original game, the game's characters do plenty of dangerous and unsafe activities. Lives can be lost by "dying" in one of the activities. The player has three chances to prevent the characters from dying.[23]

The game is recently also available as a web and mobile-web version by MarketJS, license holder of the HTML5 web IP.

A second sequel titled Dumb Ways to Die 3: World Tour was released on 21 December 2017. Unlike the previous games which both involved the player playing minigames and trying to prevent the characters from dying, here the player collects coins from houses that are fixed up from being initially broken. The houses are fixed by the player playing a new minigame for each area containing those houses.[24]

A third sequel titled Dumb Ways to Die 4 was released on Android and iOS on May 2, 2023.[25][26]

A spinoff was also released, titled Dumb Ways to Draw on 5 May 2019. In the game, the player has to draw lines with in-game pens to guide the characters to their goals. But they also have to prevent the characters' deaths by dangers. It also had a colouring section to colour and share drawings as well as a "trace the picture" section, in which the player is required to hold the screen until a line of sufficient length is drawn to trace the given diagram. The sequel titled Dumb Ways to Draw 2 will be released in 2023. [27]

Another spinoff, titled Dumb Ways to Dash was released on 13 December 2019. The player has to guide their character in a 3D race against other characters to the finish line while avoiding the obstacles.[28]

A third spinoff, titled Dumb Ways to Die: Superheroes was released on 25 June 2020. It has similar gameplay to the previous spinoff.[29]

YouTube channel

The Metro Trains has also published a number of other videos on its YouTube channel, "Dumb Ways to Die", including the trailers of the second game, a video centered on the MIFF, a series of Christmas-themed short videos, Halloween-themed videos, and some other videos centered on Train Safety.[30] They have recently been uploading shorts of ingame characters dying in real life.

Reception

Susie O'Brien in the Herald Sun in Melbourne criticised the ad for trivialising serious injuries and being about advertisers' ego rather than effective safety messages.[31]

Simon Crerar of the Herald Sun wrote that the song's "catchy chorus was the most arresting hook since PSY's Gangnam Style."[8] Alice Clarke writing in the Herald Sun described the video as "adorably morbid" and wrote that Victoria's public transport "broke its long running streak of terrible ads".[32]

Daisy Dumas of the Sydney Morning Herald described it as "darkly cute—and irksomely catchy" and the chorus as "instant earworm material".[33]

Michelle Starr of CNET described the campaign as the Darwin Awards meets The Gashlycrumb Tinies and the song as "a cutesy indie-pop hit in the style of Feist".[34]

Logan Booker of Gizmodo described it as "taking a page out of the Happy Tree Friends book and mixing cute with horrifying".[35]

Karen Stocks of YouTube Australia said the video was unusual due to the high number of views from mobile devices.[36] Stocks attributed the success to "A snappy headline. A catchy tune that gets stuck in your head. And a message that is easy to understand and perfectly targeted."[36]

The Sunshine Coast Daily described it as "the Gangnam Style of train safety campaigns".[37]

Arlene Paredes of the International Business Times said the video was "brilliant in getting viewers' attention" and "arguably one of the cutest PSAs ever made."[38]

Effectiveness and unwanted repercussions

The campaign received some criticism on the basis that suicide is one of the most influential causes of rail trauma, and the ad reinforces deadly trains as a possible suicide method.[39] Writing in Mumbrella in February 2013, a former employee of Victoria's Department of Infrastructure advised critical thinking when evaluating claims made regarding improvements to safety. Reference was made specifically to the claimed 20 per cent reduction in risky behaviour as being "social media bullshit".[40]

Censorship in Russia

In February 2013, Artemy Lebedev's blog was censored by Roskomnadzor, the Russian government agency in charge of Internet censorship, for including the video.[41] Later that day, the YouTube video was also censored, with the "This content is not available in your country due to a legal complaint from the government" message. The official takedown notice sent to Livejournal.com was quoted, in part, by Lebedev in his blog.

The song's lyrics contains a description of different ways of committing suicide, such as: using drugs beyond their expiration date, standing on an edge of a platform, running across the rails, eating superglue and other. The animated personages demonstrate dangerous ways of suicide in attractive for children and teenagers comic format. The lines such as "Use a clothes dryer as a hiding place" and "I wonder what's this red button do?" contain an incitement to commit those acts.

Despite this, the video was still included into the ABC Show and was shown in more than 50 cities across Russia.

Awards

The campaign won seven Webby Awards in 2013 including the Best Animation Film & Video and Best Public Service & Activism (Social Content & Marketing).[42]

It won three Siren Awards, run by Commercial Radio Australia, including the Gold Siren for best advertisement of the year and Silver Sirens for the best song and best campaign.[43][44]

The public service announcement was awarded the Grand Trophy in the 2013 New York Festivals International Advertising Awards.[45]

In June 2013, the campaign clip won the Integrated Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity,[46] and overall, won five Grand Prix awards, 18 Gold Lions, three Silver Lions, and two Bronze Lions, which was the most for the campaign in the festival's history.[47]

Legacy

Parodies

Within two weeks, the video had spawned over 85 parodies.[48] Some renditions and parodies have been featured in national and international media:

  • "Cool Things to Find" - featuring the Curiosity Mars rover. Cinesaurus noted that it took them six days and 250 man hours to create.[49][50]
  • "Dumb Ways to Die (In Video Games) Parody"[51][52] by YouTube channel MegaSteakMan.
  • "Dumb Ways to Die (Minecraft Edition)".[51]
  • "Grand Theft Auto V: Dumb Ways to Die".[53][54]
  • "Dumb Ways to Die - Game of Thrones Edition".[55]
  • "Annoying Ways to Die" from Annoying Orange, as noted by Socialtimes.[52]
  • "The Walking Dead + Dumb Ways to Die Parody" - live-action parody of characters from The Walking Dead".[52]
  • "Smart Ways to Live" by The Maccabeats - a cappella version as noted by Arutz Sheva.[56]
  • "Queremos Vivir en Caracas" (english: We Want to Live in Caracas) by Jointool Studios - An Venezuelan parody of Dumb Ways to Die.
  • "Squid Game - A Dumb Ways to Die Parody" - by Ploy Boal won the Video of the Day Award on 19 April 2022 from Motion Design Awards.[57]
  • "Dumb Ways To Fail" - several versions on YouTube by different channels.
  • "Dumb Ways to Blind" - on YouTube, about the dangers of powerful laser pointers.
  • "Dumb Ways To Die on Horrible Histories" - a song using deaths for stupid deaths on the Horrible Histories.
  • "Dumber Ways To Die" - a song made by Right Arm Productions (bowlingballout) with a version with lame singing and shorts that look like PSAs. The audio was replaced with nursery rhyme music. The original version is still on Dailymotion.[58]
  • "

Life insurance partnership

Due to their success, the Dumb Ways to Die characters have been featured in a promotional campaign for Empire Life Insurance, with their key message being, "the dumbest way to die is without life insurance."[59] However, the campaign was met with mixed reviews, with some advertising critics accusing Metro of "selling out" on a successful campaign.[60][61]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Metro's tongue-in-cheek transport safety animated video goes viral on social media". The Age. 19 November 2012. Archived from the original on 19 January 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  2. ↑ "PlaySide Studios (ASX:PLY) acquires Dumb Ways To Die franchise for $2.25m". The Market Herald. 1 October 2021. Archived from the original on 8 March 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 "McCann's dumb ways to die". Australian Creative. 19 November 2012. Archived from the original on 19 November 2012.
  4. ↑ "Aussie viral video, 'Dumb Ways to Die', lives on". The Age. 29 November 2012. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
  5. ↑ "Dumb Ways to Die viral 'leads to 20% drop in dumb behaviour at Melbourne train stations'". Mumbrella. 7 February 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  6. ↑ Stephen Cauchi (14 February 2013). "No dumb luck: Metro claims safety success". The Age. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  7. ↑ "'Dumb ways to die' goes viral". 3AW. 19 November 2012. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013.
  8. 1 2 "Cute Melbourne safety video Dumb Ways to Die becomes internet smash". Herald Sun. 19 November 2012. Archived from the original on 30 January 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  9. ↑ Gruger, William (10 December 2012). "Australian 'Dumb Ways to Die' Ad Goes Viral, Song Gains Sales". Billboard. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  10. ↑ "Tangerine Kitty "Dumb Ways to Die" Sheet Music in C Major (transposable) - Download & Print - SKU: MN0127323". Musicnotes. 17 September 2017. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  11. ↑ "Tangerine Kitty – {{{song}}}" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  12. ↑ "Tangerine Kitty – {{{song}}}" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  13. ↑ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  14. ↑ "Dumb Ways to Die". Apple App Store. Archived from the original on 19 May 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  15. ↑ "Dodge Piranhas and Swat Wasps in new 'Dumb Ways to Die' Game". Creativity Online. 20 May 2013. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  16. ↑ Frost, Julian. "Dumb Ways to Die Game". julianfrost.co.nz. Julian Frost. Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
  17. ↑ "Dumb Ways to Die: You have to Keep Them Alive, or Die Hilariously". App Chronicles. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  18. ↑ Nudd, Tim (17 May 2013). "Dumb Ways to Die Is Now a Video Game for the iPhone and iPad McCann Australia extends beloved train-safety ad". AdWeek. Archived from the original on 17 October 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  19. ↑ "Dumb Ways To Die tops charts with new iPhone + iPad app game via McCann + Barrel Of Donkeys". Campaign Brief. 17 May 2013. Archived from the original on 10 June 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  20. ↑ "Dumb Ways to Die". Google Play Store. Archived from the original on 19 September 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  21. ↑ "Dumb Ways to die → High Score".
  22. ↑ Wehner, Mike (17 February 2014). "Dumb Ways to Die is a great way to live". Engadget. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  23. ↑ "Dumb Ways to Die 2: The Games - Apps on Google Play". play.google.com. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  24. ↑ "Dumb Ways to Die 3: World Tour - Apps on Google Play". play.google.com. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  25. ↑ "Dumb Ways to Die 4 announced to release on May 2". New Gaming Codes. 27 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  26. ↑ Dumb Ways to Die 4: Official Pre-order Trailer, retrieved 27 March 2023
  27. ↑ "Dumb Ways to Draw - Apps on Google Play". play.google.com. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  28. ↑ "Dumb Ways to Dash - Apps on Google Play". play.google.com. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  29. ↑ "Dumb Ways to Die: Superheroes - Apps on Google Play". play.google.com. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  30. ↑ "DumbWays2Die -Youtube Channel". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  31. ↑ O'Brien, Susie (25 November 2012). "Ego trip a dumb way to tackle rail safety". The Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 23 June 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  32. ↑ "How we've cornered the market in terrible advertising". Herald Sun. 26 November 2012.
  33. ↑ Dumas, Daisy (19 November 2012). "Being dumb is almost cool with surprise advertising hit". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  34. ↑ Starr, Michelle (19 November 2012). "Metro Trains PSA details dumb ways to die". CNET. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  35. ↑ Booker, Logan (19 November 2012). "Adorable, Yet Horrifying Metro Trains Safety Video Quietly Becomes A YouTube Sensation". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  36. 1 2 Stocks, Karen (19 November 2012). "Mobile devices help 'Dumb ways to die' become the fastest spreading Australian viral brand video of all time". mUmBRELLA. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  37. ↑ "Dumb ways to die video the Gangam Style of train safety". Sunshine Coast Daily. 20 November 2012. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  38. ↑ "Viral Video with 8M Views: "Dumb Ways to Die" Melbourne Metro Ad - Cute, Twisted, Brilliant". International Business Times. 5 January 2013. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013.
  39. ↑ Dumb Ways To Die – A Strange Sense of Success Archived 8 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 16 July 2013
  40. ↑ Karalee Evans (11 February 2013). "Dumb Ways To Die and social media bullshit". Mumbrella. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  41. ↑ "Post on your blog for clip on blocked Lebedeva stupid ways to commit suicide". Lenta.ru. 5 February 2013. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  42. ↑ "Melbourne rail safety message wins Webby". The Age. 1 May 2013. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  43. ↑ "Dumb Ways to Die dominates Sirens". B&T. 10 May 2013. Archived from the original on 9 June 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  44. ↑ "Dumb Ways to Die campaign dominates best radio ads of the year". Commercial Radio Australia. Archived from the original on 8 August 2013.
  45. ↑ "Dumb Ways does it again". australiancreative.com.au. 4 May 2013. Archived from the original on 10 July 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  46. ↑ Sweney, Mark (2013). "Cannes Lions: Dumb Ways to Die scoops top award". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  47. ↑ "Quirky 'Dumb Ways to Die' campaign sweeps advertising awards". Reuters. 24 June 2013. Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  48. ↑ Moses, Asher (29 November 2012). "Aussie viral video, 'Dumb Ways to Die', lives on". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  49. ↑ Grenoble, Ryan (28 November 2012). "'Cool Things To Find' Parodies 'Dumb Ways To Die' PSA With Spoof Starring Mars Rover (VIDEO)". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  50. ↑ Starr, Michelle (28 November 2012). "Dumb Ways to Die parody is even more fun". CNET. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  51. 1 2 Johnston, Rich (25 June 2013). "Dumb Ways To Die Cleans Up At Cannes - And In Parodies - Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movies and TV News and Rumors". Bleedingcool.com. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  52. 1 2 3 "6 Awesome 'Dumb Ways To Die' Parodies On YouTube". SocialTimes. 20 December 2012. Archived from the original on 19 May 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  53. ↑ Diaz, Ann-Christine (2 October 2013). "GTA V Meets 'Dumb Ways to Die' in YouTube Parody Video". Advertising Age. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  54. ↑ Taube, Aaron (3 October 2013). "This 'Grand Theft Auto V' Themed Spoof Of The 'Dumb Ways To Die' Ad Is Tremendous". Business Insider. India. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  55. ↑ Nudd, Tim (13 April 2015). "Dumb Ways to Die, Game of Thrones Edition, Chronicles Show's Notable Demises Thus Far Plenty of untimely ends". AdWeek. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  56. ↑ "New and Fresh from The Maccabeats: Smart Ways to Live". Israelnationalnews.com. 24 April 2013. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  57. ↑ "Squid Game - A Dumb Ways to Die Parody". Motion Design Awards. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  58. ↑ "Dumber Ways To Die (Dumb Ways To Die —Parody)". Dailymotion. Retrieved 29 December 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  59. ↑ "The dumbest way to die is without life insurance, Empire Life launches new advertising campaign". 29 May 2014. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  60. ↑ Nudd, Tim (12 June 2014). "Nothing's Sacred: Dumb Ways to Die Now Being Used to Hawk Life Insurance". Adweek. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  61. ↑ "Guide to Dumb Ways to Die 4: A Detailed Walkthrough for Beginners". Theclashify. Aaqib javed. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
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