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Library/Campaign/Dumb Ways to Die
Grade B18 sourcesHIS-01008

Dumb Ways to Die

Campaign · 2012 · Notable

58Editable slideCertificate

A rail-safety music video approached 12 million YouTube views in its launch week.

Original · Metro Trains Melbourne
Dumb Ways to Die
Dumb Ways to Die on YouTube
Dumb Ways to Die
Wikipedia (non-free, fair use)
Dumb Ways To Die Case Study
McCann Australia on Vimeo
Metro's tongue-in-cheek transport safety animated video goes viral on social media
The Age
No dumb luck: Metro claims safety success
The Age
Dumb Ways To Die | Know Your Meme
Know Your Meme
Dumb Ways to Die Releases - MobyGames
MobyGames
PlaySide Studios (ASX:PLY) acquires Dumb Ways to Die franchise for $2.25m
The Market Herald

Spread Score

How it works
Reach71Contagion35Breadth60Velocity63LongevityNo data yet58

Numbers

Revival trend views; owner lower bound, stated three-week window
1.2B
TikTok · Self-reported · PlaySide Studios
Peak date
Week of Nov 21, 2012
Nov 14 ’12 to Week of Nov 21, 2012
Platforms
6
Started on YouTube
Origin
Mixed
Auto & mobility

Mechanics

  • Response chainPrimary
  • Platform jump
  • Press loop
  • Revival

How it spread

Trace the origin

Metro Trains commissioned an animated safety song that spread through YouTube, Reddit and news coverage. Parodies followed, then games and later TikTok reuse. Metro reported lower near-miss rates, without isolating the campaign’s contribution.

Dates use the stated precision; chart positions are date anchors.

Jul ’12DecMay ’13SepSep ’14Nov ’16Jan ’19Mar ’21Jun ’22Mar ’23AugYouTubeRedditOpen webPressApp storesTikTok
YouTubeRedditOpen webPressApp storesTikTok

12 more events on this chart

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Timeline (15)

  1. November 2012

    Metro Trains Melbourne seed · Nov 14 ’12

    Metro uploaded the animated rail-safety music video to YouTube.[1][2]

    Dumb Ways to Die
    Open the first post ↗

  2. Mach5Stealthz platform jump · Nov 16 ’12

    Mach5Stealthz submitted the video to Reddit’s r/videos community.[3]

  3. Tangerine Kitty commercial · Nov 18 ’12

    The song reached number six in the global iTunes singer-songwriter category, according to McCann.[4]

    Dumb Ways To Die Case Study
Changelogupdated Oct 16 ’26
  1. 2026-10-16Added 1 event · Added 2 sources · Added 5 numbers
  2. 2026-10-15Added: 13 events, 13 sources · Score 58
Origin
Mixed
Sector
Auto & mobility
Region
AU
Revival trend views; owner lower bound, stated three-week window
1.2B
TikTok · Self-reported · PlaySide Studios
Evidence
Grade B

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New cases, every week

How the next thing spread, the week it does.

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Jul ’12DecMay ’13SepSep ’14Nov ’16Jan ’19Mar ’21Jun ’22Mar ’23AugYouTubeRedditOpen webPressApp storesTikTok
YouTubeRedditOpen webPressApp storesTikTok

12 more events on this chart

Join free to see them

  1. November 2012

    Metro Trains Melbourne seed · Nov 14 ’12

    Metro uploaded the animated rail-safety music video to YouTube.[1][2]

    Dumb Ways to Die
    Open the first post ↗

  2. Mach5Stealthz platform jump · Nov 16 ’12

    Mach5Stealthz submitted the video to Reddit’s r/videos community.[3]

  3. Tangerine Kitty commercial · Nov 18 ’12

    The song reached number six in the global iTunes singer-songwriter category, according to McCann.[4]

    Dumb Ways To Die Case Study

  1. press · Nov 19 ’12

  2. platform jump · Nov 19 ’12

Join free to see the other 12 events and the full chart. Free, on every case.

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Why it worked

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