Australian safety ad goes viral

Set fire to your hair. Poke a stick at a grisly bear. Eat medicine that's out of date. Use your private parts as piranha bait. These are, unequivocally, idiotic ways to bite the big one. They're also the lyrics to Dumb Ways To Die by Tangerine Kitten, the song used in a new safety advert by Metro Trains Melbourne.

Dumb Ways To Die accompanies an animated video in which various characters kill themselves in increasingly stupid ways, the final three deaths caused by rather cavalier attitudes to train safety.

McCann Melbourne

The video was devised by advertising agency McCann Melbourne, developed by art director and designer Pat Baron and animated by 'maker of silly things' Julian Frost.

"The aim of this campaign is to engage an audience that really doesn’t want to hear any kind of safety message," says John Mescall, McCann executive creative director. "And we think Dumb Ways To Die will."

The song is a collaborative effort between writer John Mescall, with music by Ollie McGill from Australian band the Cat Empire, performed by Emily Lubitz who is lead singer with another Aussie band, Tinpan Orange – Tangerine Kitty being a reference to their respective band's names.

The video, viewed almost 28 million times on You Tube, can bee seen below: