Dumb ways to Die-ie-ie, so many dumb ways to die…

That might’ve not been the best way to title this blog post or begin it, but I’ll assume that since you’re still here, it worked (totally not because you have to read this for Dr. O’Hara’s class).

Finding creative ways to educate the public on safety has challenged marketers for years, which is quite surprising considering how simple I would’ve thought telling people to follow rules is. Upon further research, there’s a lot that goes into marketing, especially when it comes to getting the public to abide by new policies, rules, etc. Think about it. When’s the last time you saw an advertisement/informative piece (I can’t remember the correct word) that had to do with rules like wearing a face mask or not jumping the turnstiles at the subway. Was it good or bad? What factors do you believe influenced your perception of the Ad?

One of the most widely implemented marketing tactics employs the use of commonplaces to strike a chord with audiences. For those of you who “read” Keywords, commonplace describes the ideological building blocks of societies that help people explain their world. That’s ambiguous, so here’s an example: “work hard, play hard”. The statement builds from the time-old correlation between motivation to seek accomplishment and an attraction to leisure.

In this specific advertisement, the creators illustrate multiple scenarios the each describe a “dumb way to die” with the purpose being to reduce train(station) related incidents. Like many other ads, this ad relies on the fact that there’s a consensus amongst the population regarding what is and what isn’t considered a dumb way to die. Moreover, the catchy tune serves as a double-edged sord: it increases the probability that people will remember the campaign and makes the campaign more accessible to a wider demographic.

It does its job well; its no wonder the video racked over 200 million views and contributed to a 21% reduction in train station related incidents.