Radio Ad Analysis: Metro Train Australia

The Siren Awards are Australian radio commercial awards that are given out annually! Hence why the campaign I am analyzing is Australian. 

The 'dumb ways to die' campaign was done by McCann Melbourne for Metro Trains. The campaign aimed at making the users of public transport more cautiousness in their day to day travels so that there would be fewer unnecessary accidents. The truth that McCann used was based on trains being the most predictable form of transport on earth, and to be brutally honest if you decide to walk across train tracks between the platforms and don’t see a train coming and get hit by it. It is your own damn fault. There is no one else to blame.

It is interesting to note that this radio campaign started off as an online video which grew so popular that there was almost a demand to hear it on the radio. In fact within 24 hours of the online launch, the 'Dumb ways to Die' song had reached a top 10 position on the ITunes music chart.

Rather than making use of a typical annoying public service announcement, McCann decided to make use of a catchy tune, some childish lyrics and an offbeat sense of humour. This resulted in the video which made use of cute animated characters to further beat home the message. This is a good example of where the idea is bigger than the advert. It goes to show how powerful a good idea can be. It can do the work of 10 ads. Well in this case it resulted in the creation of a number of ads.

Here are some of the results of the video:

1. Within a week of its launch McCann's Dumb Ways To Die video had over 15 million views.

2. It was the fastest-growing Australian viral internet hit ever. It outranked both Rihanna and Gangnam Style in global popularity.

3. The video achieved over 30 million views and spawned a number of global parodies and spin-offs which attracted massive global media attention for Metro Trains and its safety message.

The radio campaign consisted of 3 radio spots. Each with its own take of the concept. A large part of the success of the campaign rests on the execution. The song sounds genuinely good and has a likable feel even if the lyrics are completely out of place for the melody.

This campaign is an acurate example of what Julie showed us yesterday. IDEA > AD.

Below is a link to listen to the radio adverts.

http://www.sirenawards.com.au/index.cfm?page_id=1054

Weekly Advertising Analysis: Endangered Wildlife Trust - Print & Poster

Good morning,

It has been awhile since my last post using this blog. I have been managing a Facebook page for Fools until the website is up and ready.

Today, I have chosen a very special advert. It is for the Endangered Wildlife Trust and was conceptualized and created by Lowe CT. Last week at Red and Yellow we were fortunate enough to have a talk by the creative director for Lowe CT; Kirk Gainsford. It was an incredibly enlightened and inspiring hour or so. During his talk he went through some of the work that they had done and this specific ad he was very proud of because It was conceptualized by the interns at Lowe CT. 

The advert aims to to bring attention to the alarming rate at which we are currently depleting our oceans resources.

The body copy reads: "In the last 50 years we have devastated approximately 90% of large fish stocks in the world’s oceans. We have a small window of opportunity to save the last 10% before they are pushed to extinction. Halt the plunder of our seas – visit www.ewt.org.za."

This ad makes use of very powerful imagery. From a first glance the image appears to be of a shoal of fish swimming in the ocean. However after a few seconds pass the eye moves to the detail. You start to see that in fact the it is a distant shot of a whole fleet of ships and fishing vessels. It shocks the mind that the eyes have been fooled and forces the viewer to pay closer attention to the message - That if we carry on the way we are going, that shoal of fish will disappear and be replaced by fleet of ships. The image matches and mimics the message. The headline ("In our lifetime there may be more fishing boats than fish in our oceans") allows all the pieces to fall in place in the viewers mind. It is a strong fact that calls for action. 

The real success of this advert lies with the simplicity of the imagery and the message. It enables clear communication of the message and has a striking almost shocking effect on the viewer. The rusted metal type effect used for the body copy and headline draws the eye and gets the attention. The effect gives a serious tone, rust and decay are what we hate most about ships. It is not appealing nor desirable and is a sign of neglect which again feeds through into the message.

A great advert that showcases South Africa's advertising talent. I'm sure we will see a lot more great work from LoweCT in the near future.

I hope everyone has had a great start to their week. 

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Credits:

Executive Creative Director: Kirk Gainsford
Art Director: Dane Alexander
Illustrator: Chris Eloff

Interns -
Copywriter (AAA): Lauren Rimmer
Art Director (AAA): Natasha Dobbs
Copywriter (Vega): Phillip Black
Art Director (Vega): Tammy Hart