McCann’s ‘Dumb Ways to Die’ for Metro Melbourne only Aussie ad selected among TED’s Top 10 Ads Worth Spreading in Long Beach CA

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Dumb Ways To Die album cover.jpgIt became the most shared public service campaign in history, topped iTunes charts around the world and spawned a series of related covers and parodies. Now McCann’s ‘Dumb Ways to Die‘ campaign for Metro Melbourne has become the first Australian ad to be selected among TED’s top 10 Ads Worth Spreading in Long Beach, California apart from BWM’s Red Cross ad which made the shortlist last year.

A panel of judges made up of renowned TED speakers, rising stars from the advertising industry and some of the industry’s leading minds nominate the work they believe deserves to be honoured. Among the industry “advocates” are advertising household names such as Crispin Porter + Bogusky chairman Chuck Porter, Leo Burnett Worldwide chief creative officer Mark Tutssel and Droga5 creative chairman David Droga.

Dumb Ways to Die is the only Australian ad to ever be honoured among the Ads Worth Spreading, revealed at the TED conference yesterday (26 February).

McCann Australia executive creative director John Mescall was in Long Beach for the presentation.

Says Mescall: “It’s a genuine thrill to have our work honoured at TED. Mainly because the crowd here is amazing. There are roboticists, inventors, a 15-year-old who developed a cancer detector, dolphin researchers, a 14-year-old who achieved fusion from a reactor in his garage, a yo-yo champion, and someone whose job title is ‘shepherd of electrons’. Coming from an industry where the sexiest job title is creative technologist, it’s a bit of an eye-opener.”

Part of a campaign that aims to reduce the number of serious and fatal accidents on Metro Trains rail network in Melbourne, the three-minute music video of Dumb Ways to Die claimed the number one spot on the Viral Video Chart within 24 hours of launch on 16 November 2012.

The video has received more than 40 million views (and rising) on YouTube, with an additional 11 million views of related covers, parodies and re-posts taking it to an overall count of 51 million.