Unit 20 - M1: Describe an existing media advertising campaign

Metro Train Melbourne

In 2012, Metro Train Melbourne hired the advertising agency McCann Melbourne to devise and publicise a marketing campaign about railway safety in Australia, specifically Melbourne. What they came up with became an international sensation as people went crazy for the viral game and videos McCann Melbourne created to raise awareness. This viral sensation was "Dumb ways to die". There was an app consisting of various games, a YouTube video series and new "dumb ways to die" videos as well as toys, billboards and other prints as well as an official song to go along with it.

A still from one of the games/challenges
on the app

Consistency of message:-
   Between all types of media that was used, the fonts, colours, animated characters, tone of advertisement and animation style remain the same even when the campaign gained more traction and there was more money to improve the quality of the animation. The main ways of advertising were the app and the videos that were uploaded to YouTube. In both cases the same soundtrack was used as it was what started the campaign and played a prominent part in publicising the campaign. Both the games and the videos consisted of minimal written messages which meant that the main message shown was the title, however there was often a voiceover to inform people about being safe on the rail tracks because that was the aim of the whole campaign. Throughout all media types, the characters remained the same to keep them related to the campaign and they never changed throughout the campaign. The characters all had names and certain characteristics that would make them instantly recognisable when seen by anyone who had seen any of the advertising campaign. The simplistic style and colour choices was also something that kept the campaign different from anything else and the colour scheme ran through every product that was made. The colours weren't too bright and not too dull but they, along with the style of animation, could instantly be linked to the campaign. The biggest fault about the campaign was that it wasn't always clear about the specifics of why it existed, excluding the end of the video or games there wasn't much information to say it was for railway safety. However, aspects like the style of comedy was consistent though all the marketing they did as everything seemed to be light hearted dark comedy which wasn't too dark to put people off but managed to give the message of safety when travelling and wherever they go.

Dumb Ways To Die stuffed toys

Videos they've uploaded to youtube.

Link to Print/Videos Campaign:-
   Between the media products, there was a lot of parallels and consistencies between them which made it easier to recognise. As mentioned before the font styles, colours used and comedy was near identical and this didn't change for the print coverage they did. Metro put posters about the campaign around areas where public transport was accessible across Melbourne. The posters and billboards were on bus stops, elevators near train stations, in train stations etc. which all acted as a consolidation for the campaign as it linked the locations they used to the message. Between digital platforms, the music was a big part of making the campaign recognisable, however with the print, the focus of consistency became the colours used and the characters that were created for the campaign. The use of the same characters and messages over and over on the posters, app and other forms of advertising was what made all advertising linked to each other.

A page from one of the video games