Metro trains has struck songwriting gold over the weekend, with their newly created safety promotion going viral over the weekend thanks to the songwriting prowess of one of the members from The Cat Empire.
The playfully catchy tap along has racked up over 4 million hits on YouTube in the since its release late last week, after reaching the front page of Reddit and going viral across social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
The track, titled ‘Dumb Ways To Die’, is accompanied by an innocently charming cartoon video which sees cartoon characters meet their ends in a number of creative and colorful ways, even including several nasty train related incidents, coinciding with the hum worthy chorus: ”Dumb…ways to die”.
The genius behind the track, Ollie McGill, keyboard player for iconic Australian outfit The Cat Empire, has been keeping a close eye on the progress of the track, although does admit that it has completely surprised him; completely going beyond his expectations.
Speaking to The Age, McGill confirmed the success of the track has been something on his ‘to-do list’.
“I’m kind of overwhelmed to tell you the truth,” he said. “I’m not a major songwriter and I’ve never dreamed of something I’ve written going viral like this. It’s gone beyond the desired effect, which was ambitious to start out with. It’s mad – I don’t know when it will stop. I’m always a bit self-critical – I just didn’t expect even a tenth of even a hundredth of this effect.”
“I’m not a major songwriter and I’ve never dreamed of something I’ve written going viral like this”“The initial tune came very quickly. I was up late one night after a party and picked up my guitar and out came the chorus. Then it was a matter of ”tweaking” late into the night over six weeks.” McGill added, emphasising that he wanted the song to work on its own artistic merit away from the advertisement.
“It is a song people can download and listen to without thinking ‘ad’,” says McGill. The song is available for download on the iTunes music store and within 24 hours reached the top 10 on the iTunes chart, ranking No. 6 globally by Sunday.
Metro Trains, who commissioned McGill to pen the tune with fellow Melbourne artist Tangerine Kitty, are also pleased with the public’s response saying they’re not surprised the campaign has been well received but somewhat surprised by how quickly the tune became popular.
“The campaign evolved out of discussion with platform staff and drivers who witness people risking their safety around train stations and at level crossings,” said Leah Waymark, General Manager Corporate Relations, Metro Trains.
“The ‘dumb’ theme had its gestation in those initial responses. It was just an overwhelming theme of their feedback. We’re not surprised that this campaign has been well received but you can never predict the speed and take-up which, in this case, has been amazing. In the limited testing we did among our families, everyone really liked it so we felt sure it would work.”
“This campaign is designed to draw young people to the safety message rather than frighten them away,” Ms Waymark added.
“We set out to find an innovative way to reach young people who see themselves as indestructible. We felt images of body bags were more likely to have an impact on their parents, so we wanted to engage with young people in a way we think they might appeal to them a bit more.”
“Some people might have an issue with us making light of what is a serious topic, but if we can save one life or avoid serious injury, then that’s how we’ll measure the success of this campaign.”
There’s hope that news of the tracks quickfire success will generate more interest in enlisting quality songwriters for advert and promotional material, after several high profile cases of companies using artists’ music without permission were uncovered this past year.
As previously reported, Melbourne’s cult 80s band GOD’s seminal track “My Pal”, or guitar riffs and drum beats that sound remarkably similar, being used in the latest advertising campaign by Mercedes-Benz.
At the beginning of the year, John Butler’s well-recognisable riff from track “Zebra” was meticulously copied for a yoghurt advertisement that aired during the US Superbowl; an event which attracts over 100 million people in the US and where the limited advertising spots during the game cost around $3.5 million per 30 seconds.
Other Australian acts who were ripped-off included The Grates, whose 2008 single “Aw Yeah” was re-recorded for a New Zealand Weet-Bix ad. “They asked us if they could record a version of this song for the ad. We said no. Can’t believe they did it anyway, jerks,” the band tweeted.
Some receive generous pay-offs, though, as local Canberra band Tonk did, when they discovered their songs were used not once but twice in the popular US sitcom How I Met Your Mother.
Even a most polite declination by Beach House won’t suffice. An ad agency persisted for weeks to use their song “Take Care” in a Volkswagen commercial to no avail. So they did the next best (/worst) thing they could think of and created their own track to mimic Beach House’s.
The Cat Empire’s new album is due for release May 2013, but so fans don’t have to wait that long to hear some new music. As we recently announced, The Cat Empire will head out on the road in March 2013 to play the new songs – and some of the old favourites. They will play a series of intimate club shows, with limited tickets in Melbourne and Sydney, and on the bigger stages at Fremantle Arts Centre and WOMADelaide.
