Is There a Formula for Something You Want to Watch Again and Again? / Metro Trains Melbourne "Dumb Ways to Die"

The problem

In 2012, Metro Trains in Melbourne was dealing with a rise in accidents in and around stations and railway tracks. Young people taking dangerous risks was a particular concern, and traditional fear-based safety messaging simply wasn't getting through. McCann Melbourne was handed a tough challenge with a limited budget: how do you deliver a message that young people don't want to hear? The team, led by John Mescall, decided to build it as content rather than as advertising. They kept asking themselves, "Would people actually want this enough to pay for it?" as they worked.

The insight

McCann arrived at a sharp realization: trains are among the most predictable things on earth, so getting hurt by one is, frankly, almost absurdly dumb. The idea was to package that harsh truth not as a scare tactic, but as something cute, funny, and shareable. Young people don't want to be lectured. But they will listen to humor, music, and cuteness. As John Mescall himself put it, the only way to deliver a message people don't want to hear is to turn it into content they actually enjoy. The goal was to make it so good that people would forget it was an ad at all.

The idea

At the core is an animated music video just under three minutes long. Colorful bean-shaped characters die one after another in ridiculous ways—setting their own hair on fire, poking a bear with a stick, becoming piranha food. Only the final three characters die from carelessness around trains—framed as "the dumbest ways to die." The song was written by John Mescall and Patrick Baron, composed and produced by Ollie McGill of The Cat Empire, and sung by Emily Lubitz of Tinpan Orange. The animation was done by Julian Frost. With an eye on international audiences, the team wove in North American cultural touches like grizzly bears and rattlesnakes, designing it to be shared worldwide. After launching on YouTube on 11/16/2012, it quickly expanded to Tumblr, iTunes, station posters, karaoke videos, and a mobile game. The team actively welcomed user-made parodies and let go of control—and that's exactly what let it grow into a cultural phenomenon.

What happened

At Cannes Lions in 2013, the campaign won five Grand Prix awards (Film, Integrated, Direct, PR, and Radio)—a record at the time—along with 28 Lions in total (18 Gold, 3 Silver, 2 Bronze). It's said that Lee Clow and Dan Wieden both remarked they wished they'd made it themselves. On YouTube, it hit 30 million views within two weeks and has since passed 340 million views; it reached the top 10 on iTunes within 24 hours. The mobile game hit number one in 90 countries, with sequels released one after another, and in 2021 PlaySide Studios acquired the IP for 2.25 million Australian dollars. Most importantly, according to Metro Trains, near-miss incidents dropped by 20 to 30% year over year. McCann estimated the campaign generated media value worth 50 million dollars and over 700 news stories within two weeks.

Afterthought

It's almost unfair how this never gets old no matter how many times you watch it. That song gets stuck in my head, and before I know it I'm humming it—and every single time, I catch myself thinking "I should be careful around trains." It makes you forget you're watching an ad while still delivering the message loud and clear. And on top of that, it's fun. If that's not a total art form, I don't know what is. I'm genuinely in awe of how John Mescall and his team kept asking themselves, "Does this work as content?" If there's ever a future where ad agencies become unnecessary, I think it'll only be teams with ideas this strong and execution this solid who survive. I'll do my best too.

Awards

• Cannes Lions Grand Prix 2013

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