After dealing with a number of train-related injuries in the past year, Melbourne, Australia’s Metro Train Company has just launched a new campaign called “Be Safe Around Trains,” which is primarily targeted towards young people with the hope of educating them about the hazards that trains pose. This move comes after their annual safety report recorded 979 slips, trips, and pedestrian falls, and 23 non-suicide related deaths from collisions between people and trains from 2011 to 2012.

“This campaign is designed to draw people to the safety message, rather than frighten them away. Especially in our younger segments. We want to create a lasting understanding that you shouldn’t take risks around trains, that the prospect of death or serious injury is ever-present and that we as a community need to be aware of what constitutes both safe and dumb behavior,” said Metro Trains’ Marketing Manager Chloe Alsop.

The centerpiece of this campaign is their video titled “Dumb Ways to Die,” which features a catchy tune and various animated figures dying in foolish situations. Some lyrics include: “Set fire to your hair, poke a stick at a grizzly bear.” A few lyrics also point to transit safety accidents: “Stand on the edge of a train platform, drive around the boomgates at a level crossing, they may not rhyme but they’re quite possibly, the dumbest ways to die.” In addition to the video, they also have a blog and website.

One of the many “Dumb Ways to Die”

At first, my initial reaction to this campaign was that it was definitely controversial and may turn some people off. However, after further research, I’m glad to see that Metro has acknowledged this fact. Daniel Hoare, a spokesman for Metro, said that they were prepared for a backlash from some people who might take offense at its use of humor to tackle a problem that causes multiple deaths every year. “Some people might have an issue with us making light of what is a serious topic, but if we can save one life or avoid serious injury, then that’s how we’ll measure the success of this campaign,” he said. If they haven’t already, I think it’s important for Metro to implement a social media triage. As they are sure to receive many comments on their YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr accounts, this can help them decide what is okay for them to respond to, what might require someone else internally to respond to, and what might be better for someone in the community to respond to.

With that being said, I like this approach by Metro Trains, as I feel it’s more “eye-catching” (or perhaps it’s “ear-catching” in this case) than the traditional approach.  The dark comedy approach with catchy music is a nice change-up, as opposed to the traditional PSA’s we are accustomed to, which often show a graphic scene with serious undertones. Their use of a viral video to increase their campaign’s awareness and reach of their message is brilliant. Although the statistics aren’t out, I’m almost positive they have seen a considerable increase in visits (and a decrease in bounce rates) to their website and various social media platforms since the release of their video. Not to mention the fact that if this marketing student from North Vancouver has heard about it, then the awareness portion of their campaign has certainly gone well.