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Melbourne Metro Trains' safety video goes viral

A disturbingly entertaining new Melbourne Metro Trains' safety campaign video documenting some of the dumbest ways to die has become a viral internet sensation.

Within a few days of being posted on video sharing site YouTube, the three-minute animated ad and song, 'Dumb ways to die', has drawn more than 4.7 million views.

The clip, which reminds people not to take risks around trains, notched up a whopping 2.7m hits in just 48 hours.

It also took just 24 hours to find its way into the top 10 on iTunes and by Sunday was ranked number six in the global iTunes chart.

The catchy satirical ad, the brainchild of the McCann Group, features cute and colourful characters, but it delivers a serious message on a dark subject, preventable train deaths.

In the video, the cartoon characters meet their end in a series of bizarre and idiotic ways - one is poisoned by a venomous pet snake while another is wiped out after poking a grisly bear.

It is designed to remind people about the dangers and stupidity of taking risks around train stations and at level crossings.

The song also includes warnings about standing too close to platforms, driving around boom gates, and running across rail lines.

"We’ve got people eating superglue, sticking forks in toasters and selling both their kidneys. But truth is indeed stranger than fiction, and we still couldn’t come up with dumber ways to die than driving around boom-gates and all the other things people do to put themselves in harm’s way around trains," McCann Group executive creative director, John Mescall, told Australian Creative.

"The aim of this campaign is to engage an audience that really doesn’t want to hear any kind of safety message, and we think dumb ways to die will."

Gallery: The world's most controversial campaigns.
Gallery: The world's most controversial campaigns.