Top 10 Disturbing PSAs

Script written by Nick Spake

Top 10 Disturbing PSAs

Public service announcements have long been a means of conveying important messages – though some resort to particularly extreme methods. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 Disturbing PSAs.

For this list, we’re examining those PSAs that most disturb and unsettle us, addressing serious issues and subject matter in a particularly horrific manner. Whether they tackle drug use, workplace safety, or abusive relationships, the effectiveness of these PSAs is only matched by their unrelenting visual horrors.

#10: Jumped

Alongside their “Boyfriend” PSA, this advertisement is part of the Montana Meth Project’s campaign against the use of methamphetamine. “Jumped” illustrates a what-if scenario in which a young man is brutally beaten, a fate he’d prefer over his addiction to meth. Watching him get accosted and violently attacked is shocking enough before we’re greeted with a far grimmer sight: the young man, alone and physically emaciated because of drug use. It’s certainly not shy about the point it wants to drive home.

#9: Bath Salts: It’s Not a Fad...

Never before has a first-person perspective been so horrific. This video, produced by the United States Navy, lets the audience see things from the viewpoint of an ordinary man who consumes bath salts. All seems normal at first... before we’re treated to sights such as vomiting, hallucinations of monsters, and the implication that the man we’re following is on the verge of death. The PSA then segues into an overview of the threat of bath salts given by a Navy officer, who makes it perfectly clear how dangerous this particular trend happens to be.

#8: Work Accident

It’s short but no less shocking for its length. Tackling the subject matter of workplace accidents, this video – for Quebec’s Health and Work Safety Commission - is set in a factory filled to the brim with large, extremely dangerous industrial machines. One employee elects to put on his headphones and activate one such machine, without verifying whether it is safe to do so. Thus, to the horror of all present, a life is lost in swift and graphic fashion... and we are left with a sense of dread and respect for workplace safety.

#7: If You Could See Yourself, Would You Stop Yourself?

For some, it seems that crossing a line is all too easy. Developed by the UK government, “Abuse in Relationships” is a video in their “Would You Stop Yourself” series of PSAs. The video in question has a young couple come into conflict when the boy – upset that his girlfriend doesn’t want to engage in sexual activity – turns violent. What cements both the unsettling nature of the situation and the bigger question at play is that a visualization of the boy’s conscience begins calling out from behind an invisible wall. It’s truly heart wrenching to behold.

#6: The Faster the Speed, the Bigger the Mess

Sometimes long-term consequences can be just as affecting as the immediate trauma. Case in point: this Road Safety Authority ad transitions from an abrupt car crash to its tragic aftermath and impact on the survivors. Victims die or are left crippled, the perpetrator is taken to court, various families devastated – it all contributes to an atmosphere of guilt and fear that works to the PSA’s advantage. And that’s before getting into the video’s use of the Avrutin song, “I Can’t Take My Eyes Off You (Off You).”

#5: Anti-Child Abuse

Up until the end, subtlety is key. Commissioned by the Council of Europe, this PSA commences with a young girl crying in a forest being approached by an older man who’s implied to be her father, with the implication of sexual abuse having occurred. Little by little, the girl appears to resign herself to silence and isolation, even while surrounded by merriment and celebration. If the lingering pain of coping with abuse isn’t clear by that point, watching the girl contemplate suicide by drowning in the video’s final moments will clarify matters poignantly.

#4: It Rarely Stops

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this speaks a great deal about the nature of abuse. The concept here is simple – a bloodied and bruised woman stands before the camera, attempting to wipe away her injuries. As the video goes on, her injuries grow more dire, blood begins to seep from her nose, and all signs point to this woman’s suffering being constant. Thus, the point is made... just before she abruptly turns as the PSA ends, leaving us in awe and quiet horror.

#3: There Really Are No Accidents

One of several public service announcements on the nature of workplace accidents, this “Restaurant Accident” puts the viewer face-to-face with an up-and-coming sous chef. Bright and optimistic, she quickly underlines the trauma to come by commenting on the circumstances behind her forthcoming “accident.” It’s horrific enough to watch someone with such potential become crippled, but the video manages to evoke a creeping fear and a sense of remorse at what this woman may lose. This PSA gives us chills just thinking about it.

#2: Shame on You

Well, you’ve got our attention now, that’s for sure. In order to hammer home the importance of road safety, the government of Northern Ireland produced a public service announcement on the matter. The video shows a class of children going on a trip to the woods, inter-cut with clips of a man driving. A creeping sense of fear builds until the climactic moment, where the man loses control of his car and crashes... killing the children in the process. We’re positive people aren’t likely to forget this PSA’s message any time soon.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
Rewind the Future
Grim Reaper
Snorting Your Brain
Mistakes

#1: How Do Our Children See Us…

Children deserve better, and this ad knows it. Thus, this PSA by the campaign Fragile Childhood fully embraces its premise of kids being haunted by a variety of monsters. Clowns, rabbit-headed people, reapers, all these beings lurk about, and assert control over children – a metaphor for how children view alcohol-consuming parents. Unsettling and even saddening as it is, this monster-filled ad is all the more impactful for conveying its message without a single line of dialogue. Truly, this is a powerful call to action.

Do you agree with our list? What do you feel is the most disturbing PSA? For more thought-provoking Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.