TV adverts are still a hugely effective and proven way of generating advertising.
The recent controversy over an ad by the car giant Jaguar shows how powerful advertising still is.
The amount companies pay for a commercial during the Super Bowl half-time shows it works and marketing executives are constantly striving to make new and innovative ads.
While most commercials aim to inform or entertain, some have taken a darker route, leaving audiences spooked and unsettled.
Here, we delve into some of the scariest TV ads of all time that continue to haunt viewers long after they’ve aired.
The “Little Baby’s Ice Cream” Commercial
One of the most unnerving advertisements comes from Little Baby’s Ice Cream, a Philadelphia-based ice cream company. The commercial features a person made entirely of ice cream, using a spoon to eat themselves. The eerie music and the unsettling narration, which includes lines like “There’s good reason for my glistening skin,” create a disturbing viewing experience that left many viewers feeling uncomfortable and disturbed.
It’s certainly very weird.
“Humpty Dumpty” – Kinder Eggs
This 1980s commercial for Kinder Eggs shows the famous nursery rhyme character Humpty Dumpty.
In this version, he babbles incoherently before, like in the rhyme, falling backwards off a wall.
The link between “Humpty” and the chocolate egg with a plastic toy inside, isn’t really ever made clear. But it’s creepy, and the sort of ad that would make children run out of the room screaming.
Metro Trains – “Dumb Ways to Die”
Although it carries an important safety message, the “Metro Trains – Dumb Ways to Die” advertisement from Melbourne, Australia, has an eerie quality. The catchy tune and cute animation depict various characters meeting their end in gruesome yet comical ways. The juxtaposition of the cheery song with the morbid content creates a disturbing contrast that sticks with viewers, making them more mindful of safety but also leaving a lingering sense of discomfort.
The cute characters definitely don’t make it scary as such, but its context makes it unsettling, and extremely memorable.
Burger King – “The King”
Burger King’s campaign featuring “The King” character is another example of an ad that straddles the line between funny and frightening. The King, with his oversized, expressionless face mask, silently appears in unexpected places, often startling those he encounters. The combination of the lifelike yet static mask and the character’s silent demeanor can be quite unnerving, making these ads memorable for their creepiness.
The “PS2 – The Third Place” Commercial
Sony’s PlayStation 2 “The Third Place” ad, directed by David Lynch, is a masterclass in surreal horror. The commercial features bizarre imagery, including distorted faces and unsettling soundscapes, creating an atmosphere of unease.
Lynch’s signature style, with its dreamlike and often nightmarish quality, turns this advertisement into a short, unsettling journey that leaves viewers perplexed and disturbed.
John West Salmon – “Bear Fight”
While primarily intended to be humorous, the “John West Salmon – Bear Fight” ad takes a darkly comic turn that has unnerved some viewers. The commercial shows a fisherman fighting a bear for a salmon, with the bear exhibiting disturbingly human-like behavior.
The realistic depiction of the bear combined with the unexpected and violent confrontation creates a tense and unsettling atmosphere.
Creepy Crawlers – “Thingmaker”
The “Creepy Crawlers – Thingmaker” ad from the 1960s is another example of a children’s product advertisement that turned out to be unintentionally frightening. The ad features children creating rubbery insects and other creepy creatures using the Thingmaker toy.
The eerie lighting, combined with the enthusiastic yet slightly sinister tone of the narrator, gives the commercial an unsettling vibe that has lingered in the memories of those who saw it as children.
