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Adverts/Public Information Films that scared you...

AGXStarseed

AGXStarseed

Well-Known Member
Humanity generally is a bit of a daft species, and please note I'm referring to humanity in general here - not slagging anyone off.
We do daft things, we act without thinking, we forget, we get distracted, we think we'll be fine, etc.
Most times, this leads just to general annoyance or occasionally to something quite funny, as many funny clip shows on the television have proved over the years. However, there are times when our own stupidly can affect us in more dangerous or even life-threatening ways.

As such, there are often adverts on the television telling you about what to do in certain situations or how to avoid them altogether. Some of these present the danger and its prevention/solution in a comical light.
Others, on the other hand, seem to go out of their way to scare the living crap out of us to 'hammer' the point home.
Here, I'm going to share some that truly freaked me out when I saw them. Funnily enough, the majority of these I saw on a TV program that was documenting many of these adverts and public information films.
So, here goes. Are you sitting comfortably?

---

1. A film which I had to watch in my childhood at school. The quickening beat of the music in this one gets to you as a teenager breaks into an electrical substation to get a football, but tragedy is looming as his little brother follows...


2. A PIF about the dangers of fooling around near water, which has sadly lost a lot of its fear factor for today's audience. Played out like a distilled horror film, the Grim Reaper (voiced by Donald Pleasence) watches as children meet their ends from fooling around. For me the creepy part was the Spirit's echoing threat at the end.


3. A simplistic PIF - warning not only of the dangers of drink driving but also of its consequences. This advert was just one shot of a girl listening as her mother in the background screaming at her father - who has accidentally killed a little boy through driving while drunk. Seeing the girl's face change as the advert progresses is heart-rendering.


4. For anyone who has seen the film Cujo, this one in particular will give you chills as it warns you what to do if an animal scratches you bites you or licks an open wound you may have...as well as the consequences of what may happen if the animal has rabies...


5. My mum had nightmares seeing this when she was a teenager and when it first came out. Over 40 years later, it still packs a punch as I couldn't sleep for a long time after seeing it. Not surprising, as public opinion has declared this to be the UK's scariest public information film.
 
We do some weird stuff in the Great White North...

Didn't scare me, though.
 
Here's some more to give you chills:

1. Another one about Fire Safety in your home, with this one reminding you to close your doors before you go to bed, as they will help keep back the smoke and fire longer and give you time to escape. The way the advert is presented is like a twisted version of a cat and mouse game.


2. This one is creepy as it focuses not on you, but what may be happening around you as it shows you a child been attacked several times by his abusive father -with the warning about if you think a child is been abused then to do something about it rather then staying silent.


3. Made during the 1980's when the AIDS virus was quickly spreading, this PIF did everything it could to raise awareness of the condition and scare the crap out of people in the process. It's more scary when you realize that John Hurt (the voice of the creepy Horned Emperor from Disney's The Black Cauldron) is the one doing the voiceover.


4. An Irish-made PIF about the dangers of speeding, that was actually banned from appearing before 9:00pm for been 'too scary' due to its contents. In this video, a group of school children are in a park on a school trip. Meanwhile, a man who is late for work pushes his car's accelerator...and tragedy ensues...


5. During the Cold War in the 1970's, a set of Public Information films were made to warn British people about what to do if Britain was ever hit by a nuclear bomb. Thankfully, such an event never came to pass and so these PIF's never had to be shown. Still scary, though.
 
This one still gets to me, the flash of the teeth when the surprise happens is just creepy.

 
1. From Northern Ireland, this PIF shows the dangers and pain of Sectarian violence as a gun runner for a terrorist group ends up in and out of prison while his neglected son grows up. When the man tries to reconnect with his son after apparent rehabilitation, he discovers too late that his son has followed in his footsteps...


2. It often takes some time and harsh viewing to get people to wear their seat-belts. Unbelievably, some people actually tried to stop the law that made wearing seat-belts compulsory as they claimed it "violated their civil rights" (Yep, it violated their right to smash windscreens with their face!)
Getting people in the back to put their seat-belts on as well was another challenge - and the dangers of not doing so are graphically represented here as a teenage boy on the backseat neglects to put it on...


3. However, it's not just not wearing your seat-belt that could threaten your life when driving, as this creepy split-screen video a husband is on his way home while talking to his wife on his mobile phone...with disastrous consequences.


4. One of those Public Information Films that actually surprises you - and, depending on your character, you either laugh or are shocked by what happens.
I'll let you see for yourself and let your mind choose your reaction.


5. This one is downright scary as it shows the dangers of playing on farms. Six kids visit a farm and begin to play, but by the end of the film, five of the kids have died in tragic circumstances.
The death that particularly creeps me out is the death of the second child...
 
Some adverts about doing drugs - in particular Heroin (and its effects from continuous use).



Another about the danger of catching AIDS, due to injecting yourself with dirty needles.

 
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The Green Cross code man adverts of the mid 70s, starring David "Darth Vader" Prowse, very informative but one of the scariest things ever.

 
One that I watched in Year 3 at school when we were learning about Electricity.
This program incorporated older adverts into it from the earlier "Play Safe" public information film (such as the boat and camping adverts) as well as creating new segments that would later become separate advertisements - warning children and teenagers to stay out of substations, not to play or fish near cables, to stay out of disused buildings and not to climb pylons.

The story of this public information film focuses on a school, where pupils are having their last science class before half term holidays - with a guest speaker from the electricity board warning them of the dangers of electricity. However, Darren - a boy in the class who believes you can't get hurt by electricity unless you touch it - has his mind on other things; a distraction that later leads to tragedy...

 
AGXStarseed said:
One that I watched in Year 3 at school when we were learning about Electricity.
This program incorporated older adverts into it from the earlier "Play Safe" public information film (such as the boat and camping adverts) as well as creating new segments that would later become separate advertisements - warning children and teenagers to stay out of substations, not to play or fish near cables, to stay out of disused buildings and not to climb pylons.

The story of this public information film focuses on a school, where pupils are having their last science class before half term holidays - with a guest speaker from the electricity board warning them of the dangers of electricity. However, Darren - a boy in the class who believes you can't get hurt by electricity unless you touch it - has his mind on other things; a distraction that later leads to tragedy...

Click to expand...
The second one we watched in year 7, still found it really hard hitting though.
 
Here's the "Play Safe" PIF that preceded "Powerful Stuff". I never saw this one growing up outside of seeing the Frisbee advert on its own, but this one also packs a punch.

 
Here's some more;

Building Sites Bite: A sci-fi styled advert similar in style to Apaches (see my earlier entries on this thread) that warns us not to play on building sites - even going as far as to list a number of children who have died on Building sites and how they died.

 
Rich Allen said:
The Green Cross code man adverts of the mid 70s, starring David "Darth Vader" Prowse, very informative but one of the scariest things ever.

Click to expand...

Did you know he actually reappeared in some updated Green Cross Code adverts in 2014?

In the two new adverts David Prowse - again wearing the Green Cross Man costume - reminds Adults of the Green Cross Code while also addressing other issues, as one of the adults is nearly run over because he's too busy listening to music instead of listening for oncoming cars and another pushing a baby in a pram nearly causes an accident because he's too busy looking at his Smartphone.

The adverts are unavailable on YouTube for some reason, but both adverts are available back-to-back here (if you're brave enough to watch them):

'Stop tweeting and listen', says Green Cross Code Man
 
Not long ago I saw a video of a PSA made by Unicef that showed the Smurfs all happily la-la-la-ing like they usually do, when suddenly their village was bombed and set on fire. It showed Smurfs lying around dead while others were running around screaming, and Baby Smurf was shown crying at the end. It. Was. HORRIFYING.:fearscream: I even read that the relatives of Peyo, the original creator of The Smurfs, approved of the PSA.

I get it, bombing a real village is just as evil and pointless as doing it to a fictional one, but I grew up watching the Smurfs and it was like seeing my childhood being grisly murdered.
 
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