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Other Miscellaneous PSAs
PSAs and PIFs can cover all sorts of topics - domestic violence, sexual abuse, animal cruelty, crime, workplace safety - there are a lot of them, on all kinds of issues. And, no matter the topic, there are always some that can be scary, spooky, creepy, or just interesting. So here are all the various PSAs and PIFs that don't fit into my favourite genres, or genres that have only a few PSAs!
Misc.
The Conference, 2008
The Conference is a PSA from the UK Home Office, aimed at preventing knife crime. It was apparently web-based only, which does make some amount of sense with how graphic the images it shows are - real stab wounds, blood and guts included (literally). It's a fascinating video, with some legitimately good advice and information in it, but I could definitely see it being very shocking and even frightening if it were to pop up unexpectedly for you.
Popcorn, 2010
This one is ridiculously hard hitting; I still get shivers watching it again. I remember being shocked the first time I saw this PSA - I can't even imagine what it must have been like to see it live. The sudden tonal shift, the way the colour slowly drains out of the video as the girl chokes, really ramps up the tension; the shouting and crying from the family is absolutely heartwrenching - and then the mother looking out to the audience and begging for help, pulling you into the scenario and making you feel like you're there. The twist of the actress stepping in and being able to revive the girl really makes the message hit all the harder.
Every Near Miss Has Consequences, 2019
I have to admit, this one got me. I've watched a lot of videos online, of both near misses and fatalities on train tracks, and they really get your heart racing. Seeing these clips of near misses, alongside testimonials from train drivers who have been affected by them, does make you think about the stupid risks people are willing to take with their own lives, and the wellbeings of others. The memorial half-crosses are an interesting idea, and altogether it makes a very interesting PSA.
Iceburg, 1987
There are a lot of AIDs PSAs from the 80s, and almost all of the Top 10 Scariest picks are from UK campaigns - and no wonder. There are quite a few of these adverts which creep me out, but personally, I find Iceburg to be the scariest. The cinematic cut above, which has no narration, is particularly creepy with its forboding music and silent text creatig a really offputting, uneasy atmosphere. As a queer person, there's an additional little horror in the text "So far it's been contained to small groups. But it's spreading." - knowing that this crisis PSA was only deemed necessary when AIDs started spreading widely outside of the queer community, and that by this point, thousands of people had died without much care from the government or wider society. The TV version, which is a little more famously known, features voiceover by John Hurt.
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