Thursday, December 17, 2009

Euro-PSAs: A Not-So-Happy Place

Something occurred to me as I was perusing AdFreak’s 30 Freakiest Commercials of 2009 –foreign countries produce far more effective Public Service Announcements than we do here in the U.S. Ours always seem to be heavy-handed or hackneyed, thus ineffective.


Even the most memorable American PSAs did not have an effect on me, well at least not the intended effect. The late-eighties “This is your brain on drugs” spot simply made me hungry. And then after multiple viewings, the engrained imagery actually encouraged the taking of drugs as I thought they would help inspire me to whip up a fancier egg dish. My brain often looked like a lopsided frittata. Yum.

The four Euro-ads that I’ve posted below are actually beyond effective. In fact, they are so disturbing that there are spill-over effects and unintended consequences:
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This one did indeed make me afraid for abused children, but it also made me afraid of dolls, backyard playhouses, and Finnish people in general.


Starts out with a buxom Dutch stripper and ends with a grisly knife-wielding fisherman. Note to self: no more lap dances at Neptune Nell’s down by the wharf.


Who will be crowned princess of the schoolyard?


Polar bears are so cute and cuddly. Not so much when their mangled carcasses are falling from the sky.

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