GLOBAL – January 23, 2014 – Even after eating a tube of super glue, eating medicine that’s out of date, using a clothes dryer as a hiding place, and using private parts as piranha bait – the adorable but not so intelligent cast of McCann Melbourne’s ‘Dumb Ways to Die’ campaign for Metro Trains will live on in a new line of plush toys.
John Mescall, ECD, McCann Melbourne shared photos of the plush toys on Twitter last December 6, showing the gory yet cuddly characters positioned on a couch.
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The toys will be available in a range of sizes, and will cost from $5.99 to $99.00, Ann-Christine Diaz reported on Creativity Online.
Metro General Manager-Corporate Relations Leah Waymark told Diaz that the idea to come out with toys came after consumers and merchants reacted positively to the campaign. "We had a lot of people who produce items approach us, from t-shirt makers to toy makers, to people who wanted to produce TV shows. But we narrowed it to what we thought would be most important, and that’s the brand integrity. This was not about finding another revenue stream. Finding a way to engage with people in different ways and keep the conversation alive was foremost," she said.
The toys will be produced with Evolution Inc. and New York-based manufacturer Commonwealth Toy and Novelty.
"The plushies have been in development for a while now, but as soon as I got my hands on one I kind of turned into a 13 year old girl, which was a little disconcerting. But most people do this when cuddling Snake-Eye. Or so I’m told. A warning to parents though: if your kid presses the toy in just the right spot, it plays the song," Mescall was quoted in a report by Campaign Brief.
The infectious and humorous song is intended to educate listeners about rail safety. The toys will also be tagged with a link to the Dumb Ways to Die website, which contains safety tips around trains.
According to McCann Melbourne, 14 million people have stated that they would be safer around trains because of the campaign. Dumb Ways to Die was the most awarded campaign in the history of Cannes, having received 28 Lions, including five Grand Prix awards.
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