Could AI have come up with our iconic “Dumb Ways To Die” campaign?

To find out, we gave our original Metro Trains brief to ChatGPT. Then visualised its top 3 ideas in Midjourney and animated them through Runway 2. The results were... interesting. But I think our jobs are safe for now. Here’s what happened:

Our prompt: "Act as an awarded creative director working in a Melbourne ad agency in 2012. Metro Trains has briefed a low-budget railway poster campaign to change unsafe behaviour in teens and young drivers. We don’t think posters will be effective with this audience though, who are more engaged by digital, mobile, social media and music channels.

"So you need to create an alternative highly creative campaign for teens and young adults. The three key unsafe behaviours to target are standing on the edge of train platforms, jumping across the tracks and driving around rail boom-gates. To grab their attention, the creative shouldn’t feel like traditional public service announcements. But it must still be clear it's a rail safety campaign from Metro Trains. The campaign can’t cost more than A$200,000.

"What are your top three campaign platform ideas? Use only channels that existed in 2012 and give each a catchy title."

ChatGPT: "Certainly! I’m excited:

1.   Track Beats Music Festival: Collaborating with popular local artists and bands, the mundane train platform will transform into a vibrant stage where commuters groove to the beats. But here’s the twist: the lyrics will cleverly incorporate safety messages. Picture a rapper spitting bars about rail safety. The campaign’s tagline: “Stay in Tune, Stay Safe.” Social media teasers, exclusive playlists, and QR codes on posters will lead users to the festival’s digital hub and share rail safety stories.

2.   Platform Puzzlers Mobile Game: Get ready for an addictive mobile game called “Platform Puzzlers.” Players navigate a virtual train platform, avoiding hazards like speeding trains and tempting shortcuts across the tracks. Players earn points by making safe choices (like waiting behind the yellow line) and lose points for risky behavior (like darting across the tracks). The game is free to download, and in-app ads reinforce Metro Trains’ safety messages. The campaign slogan: “Play Smart, Stay Safe.”

3.   Boom-Beats Flash Mob Challenge: Dancers, dressed as commuters, will suddenly break into synchronized flash mobs at busy train stations with boom gates as props. The choreography emphasizes safe behaviors and smartphones will capture the spectacle. The campaign hashtag, #BoomBeatsSafety, encourages people to share their own dance videos. And the grand finale? A massive flash mob at Flinders Street Station, featuring hundreds of participants dancing to an original rail safety anthem: “Don’t rush, don’t push, stay alive!”