Melbourne, Australia’s Metro system launched an online campaign quietly and unobtrusively last week featuring an animated cartoon illustrating, in what could be described as “Itchy-and-Scratchy gore meets Japanese kawaii cute” with a cutesy and irritatingly catchy song right out of the tradition of Dr. Demento, the dangers of various activities, including crossing rail tracks unsafely and being too close to subway platforms.
WARNING: Some may find the depictions of death offensive, but far MORE people will NOT be able to get this tune out of their heads, even after massive infusions of “ear bleach” such as heavy metal, bagpipes or classical symphonies… You have been WARNED.
The video features a variety of cute characters killing themselves in increasingly idiotic ways. At the end, the video demonstrates the danger and stupidity of messing around on platforms, tracks and grade crossings (level crossings" in British/Australian English).
The video has garnered nearly five million views in the course of a weekend.
Operation Lifesaver only fantasizes about garnering this level of attention for its campaigns.
That tune is now stuck in your head, isn’t it? [*-)] [(-D]
The rail-related “Dumb Ways To Die” start at about 2:22 of this 3:02 video clip - the others are . . . well, different, and maybe even ‘sick and twisted’ funny - but not rail-related.
The rail portion might be short enough to keep the refrain/ chorus from sticking inside your head . . . [:-^]
It is quite funny and clever. I can see why it has gone viral. But I am skeptical of how effective it will be in achieving its intended purpose. The ad seems to barely connect with its intended purpose, while way overindulging in distracting cuteness.
I speculate that it will be almost totally ineffective in preventing rail accidents. However, since the ad is selling safety, it will not be easy to measure its effectivness. So I doubt that the ad or its creators will ever be held accountable to justify its cost with performance result.
Looks to me like the video was (partly?) inspired by the "Happy Tree Friends’ cartoon series on youtube. That whole series is about cute little animals that find many new and gory ways to kill themselves. Not recommended for children or sensitive types.
Nope. As long as I’m in YouTube I’ll go look up the group “We 5” or some animated Christmas Lights (go “Mannheim Steamroller!”)
The only critique I can offer is that it took 2:20 to get to the rail stuff. Anyone who is put off by the general theme of the rest of the video would have shut it off by then and missed the rail portion entirely.
You beat me to it! Another one to add to my list of disappearing Canadianisms.
If you recall several years ago there was a series on ABC-TV called “Life on Mars” It was based on a British series of the same name, wherein a Police Detective is transported through time from 2010 to 1970. Listening to those Brits talking in 1970 was fascinating. It was the way I remember all the grownups talking when I was a kid, before the arrival of American sourced cable television in 1972. Did the language here ever change, from say the time I entered high school to after five years of working in the oil patch.
Previous entry in this category; “tractor-trailer trucks” becoming “semi-trailer trucks”.
Erikem - Yeah, I too thought it was kind of a graphical depiction of a bunch of Darwin Award candidates.
I thought of that later. In this world of ADD kids and adults, ‘instant gratification’, and immediate on-line results, I agree that most of the likely intended audience - those under 20 years old, say - would be long gone by then (even if they weren’t put off by the gore).
Make It Stop! [{(-_-)}] [:D] Way too catchy a tune. But very well done. I have passed the link onto several people, and shown the video to my kids. So far, everyone gets it. Seems that maybe us Canadians share the Down Under sense of humour?