ASIA-PACIFIC, September 11, 2013 – After its viral public safety campaign "Dumb Ways to Die" bagged 28 awards at this year’s Cannes Lions, it’s really no surprise that Melbourne train operator Metro Trains is being named the Advertiser of the Year at the upcoming Spikes Asia Festival of Creativity next week.
Leah Waymark, Metro Trains general manager corporate relations, said that the award is a great honor.
"As our operational performance has improved, we have increasingly been able to be more creative and make light of what are usually pretty dull topics. Out task now is to keep the conversation about train safety alive so we can change behaviours among our next generation of customers," she said.
Waymark will be accepting the award next week at the festival.
By now, most people will be familiar with the train and road safety campaign, created by McCann Melbourne. The stars of the campaign are colorful characters that die in blatantly stupid ways, for instance, using their private parts as piranha bait, or selling both their kidneys on the internet. The characters feature in an online music video and a game app, both of which have hit a record number of views, shares, and downloads since their launch.
According to the McCann Australia website, the video has reached almost 57 million views and 3.8 million shares, while the app–aside from being Kate Moss’ favorite–has reached 14 million downloads across 135 countries, and is number 1 in 17 countries.
But more important than the downloads and views, McCann said, is the fact that the campaign’s message seems to be getting across.
"More importantly, 14 million people have stated that they would be safer around trains because of the campaign, and Metro Trains noticed a 21% reduction in accidents and deaths on its network," McCann said.
