One year on: The full list of Dumb Ways To Die awards
A year ago today, the world’s most awarded piece of advertising work of all time launched when McCann Melbourne’s Dumb Ways To Die, for Metro Trains, was released onto YouTube. It has since had more than 60m views.
Here’s everything it won:
London International Awards 2013
GOLD
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Public Service/Social Welfare Campaign)
GOLD
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Branded Content)
SILVER
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Animation)
SILVER
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Best Music Video)
GOLD
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Integration)
GOLD
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Branded Content)
GOLD
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die Campaign – Film, Tumblr, Website, App (Public Service/Social Welfare)
GOLD
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Public Service/Social Welfare)
GOLD
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Mobile Apps)
GOLD
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Viral)
GOLD
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Visual Design)
GOLD
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Branded Content)
SILVER
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Script Writing)
SILVER
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Branded Content)
GOLD
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Music Original – Song)
GOLD
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Use of Music)
SILVER
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Public Service/Social Welfare)
SILVER
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Animation)
BRONZE
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Music Original – Song)
GOLD
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Branded Content)
SILVER
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Social Media)
GOLD
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Public Service/Social Welfare)
GOLD
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Copywriting)
BRONZE
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Public Service/Social Welfare)
SILVER
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Art Direction Campaign)
SILVER
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Use of Illustration Campaign)
SILVER
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Public Service/Social Welfare Campaign)
SILVER
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Art Direction Campaign)
BRONZE
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Use of Illustration Campaign)
ADMA Awards 2013
SILVER
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Apps and New Development)
GOLD
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Craft – Art Direction)
GOLD
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Craft – Copy Writing)
SILVER
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Direct Response Digital)
GOLD
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Direct Response Digital)
GOLD
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Integrated Campaign)
GOLD
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Mobile)
SILVER
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Social Media)
BRONZE
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Website)
GOLD
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Online Broadcast / Video)
GOLD
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Craft – Art Direction)
GOLD
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Out of Home)
SILVER
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Campaign – Best Use of Performance Media)
GOLD
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Campaign – PR)
GOLD
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Charity & Not For Profit)
Cresta Awards 2013
GRANDPRIX WINNER
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Television)
GRANDPRIX WINNER
Melbourne Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die (Integrated Campaigns)
National Safety Council Award
Spikes Asia 2013
Agency of the Year
Client of the Year
7 Grand Prix (Branded Content, Integrated, Promo & Activation, Digital, Radio, Film, Film Craft)
11 Gold Spikes
5 Silver Spikes
4 Bronze Spike
The Australian Effie Awards 2013
1 Silver Effie
2 Bronze Effies
Cannes Lions 2013
5 Grand Prix (Film, Integrated, Radio, Direct, PR)
18 Gold Lions
3 Silver Lions
2 Bronze Lions
Shortlists:
Best use of radio as a medium
Best use of integration of digital/social media
Most awarded campaign ever at Cannes
Together with 3 Bronze Lions for V/Line Guilt Trips and 1 Bronze Lion for FaHCSIA’s The Impossible Orchestra McCann Melbourne’s total points made us Runner-up Agency of the Year at Cannes.
D&AD 2013
1 Black Pencil
5 Yellow Pencils
3 Pencil Nominations
5 in-books
Agency of the Year
Most awarded campaign ever in D&AD’s history
Webbys 2013
7 Webbys (in 4 categories)
Most awarded campaign of 2013
One Show 2013
3 Gold Pencils
1 Bronze Pencil
4 Merit awards
Best of Show
3rd ranked global agency, Metro Trains top ranked client.
One Show Interactive 2013
1 Gold Pencil
1 Merit award
One Show Entertainment 2013
2 Gold Pencils
New York Festivals 2013
1 Grand Award
1 Gold Award
1 Silver Award
1 Bronze Award
Clio Awards 2013
3 Gold
1 Silver
Top ranked Australian agency
Mumbrella Awards 2013
Mumbrella Award for Bravery
Australia’s Favourite TV Ad of the Year
Ad Campaign of the Year
Thinker of the Year (John Mescall)
AdNews Awards (held in Feb 2013)
2012 Ad Campaign of the year
2012 Ad of the Year
TED
Selected among TED’s top 10 Ads Worth Spreading 2013, the only Australian advertisement ever to have been so recognised.
AdFest 2013
Grand Lotus for Film
2 Gold Integrated Lotus awards
1 Gold Lotus in Interactive
1 Silver Outdoor Lotus
1 Bronze Lotus in Interactive
Second ranked Australian agency
Sirens 2013
Gold Siren – Overall category winner
Silver Siren – Single category winner
Campaign of the Year
Siren Client Awards (voted by judging panel of clients)
Mumbrella
Ad of the Month – November 2012
ACES 2013
Best Australian Television and Cinema Commercial
2013 Asian Marketing Effectiveness Awards
4 Gold
(in categories: Most Effective Use of Branded Content; Charities, Public Health & Safety & Public Awareness Messages; Most Effective Use of Social Media Marketing; Best Integrated Marketing Campaign)
Shortlisted in Best Non-traditional Thinking / Non-advertising Idea
WARC Prize for Innovation 2013
Finalist
Very Short International Film Festival 2013
Prize of the people – runner up
Annecy International Animated Film Festival 2013
Winner – Best Commissioned Film
International Music & Sound Awards 2013
Best original composition in non broadcast or viral advertising / shortlisted
AMEs
Finalist, best non-traditional thinking non advertising idea
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large. He returned to Mumbrella as Publisher in January 2025
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Dumb ways to die
I wonder what the return of investment is to the agency given the amount that has been spent on award entries, not to mention the man hours submitting awards? Hope it’s worth it.
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It’s a runaway train
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wow….Whats this ad then? 🙂
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Faaarrrk!!!
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What beat it for the WARC Innovation award?? Must be pretty good!
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It’s funny to look back at people’s (mostly negative) impressions when it first came out 12 months ago – then to scroll forward and see how successful/popular it has become.
Love it
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I love that last category….Finalist: best non-traditional thinking non advertising idea.
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Probably quicker to go through what it didn’t win
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one swallow does not a summer make
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The aim of this campaign was to reduce fatalities on the metro rail network. Has it won anything based on demonstration of results?
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Just shows how many awards programs there are now. I think I will set up an a new award … Best Award Winner Of The Year.
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What are the stats for people stupidly crossing tracks? It’ll say everything about the judgement of all those judges.
I do hope it’s been incredibly effective.
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I just did the sums. Equals about $290,000 in award entry fees
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@Accountant
If this article suggests anything, it’s that mUmBRELLA measures success by how many awards the campaign won. I guess effectiveness and ROI should be measured in one of two ways:
1. If the agency paid for all those awards entries, then how much new business did the agency win as a result of the campaign and the publicity all that “success” brought?
2. If the client paid, then how much did fatalities (and injuries) on the network reduce as a result of the campaign? I guess they’d account for the award entry fees as part of their media investment in the campaign.
Please, someone from Metro, someone from McCann, enlighten us: has the number of incidents/fatalities/injuries reduced in the past year?
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Google came calling McCann as a result of this. Would go someway to offsetting the 290K. You’d think there would be a snowballing effect of both Dumb Ways and then Google. For the coverage and the bragging rights and presumably the pitches/pitch wins, 290K would be seen as a good investment.
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@mUmBRELLA and McCann are probably right. Stuff the client and their objectives!
Lots of awards plus more new business = success!
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The song is very catchy. McCann did a great job!
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@Leah, if the brief was to develop a catchy tune then yes, they did a great job.
But I think the brief was to help reduce fatalities caused by stupid behaviour at train stations or something like that and none of us is in a position to comment on that.
Someone from Metro or McCann’s should really step in and provide some numbers so we’ll all know if they did a good job.
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According to McCann, the number of accidents involving trains in Australia overall has been reduced by 21%
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