Admit it or not, our brains are wired to pay extra attention to shocking things.
When a video ad shows something weird, scary, gross, or just plain unexpected—we just can't ignore it!
Marketers often use shocking video ads to grab people’s attention.
While these ads can be risky, they can be super effective if done right!
But as a marketer, you can’t just shock for shock’s sake.
The shock needs to connect to the product or message.
Thoughtful shock value can make an ad shareable and memorable.
Let’s check out some of the best shocking video ads and see why they hit the right spot!
Unconventional ads leave a lasting impression.
While they may annoy some folks, they do get the brand name out there.
However, there’s a fine line between impactful shock and bad taste.
Cross that line, and an ad can harm a brand’s image.
Here are some best shocking video ads that have mastered the correct balance and worked.
This is one of those ads you know, the one that challenges your belief system.
It makes you question your normalcy and your "if it isn’t happening to me, why should I bother?" attitude.
At the time it was released, ‘second a day’ videos were ‘the popular thing’ on YouTube.
The director of this ad, Martin Stirling, cleverly used this format to his advantage.
This ad imagines what life would be like for a little girl if London were Syria.
It starts by showing her normal life—surrounded by family, a cozy living room, school, car rides, peace, and birthday cakes.
Then, the background begins to change.
Our little girl remains unaware at first, but then a blast happens nearby, and the effects of war reach her home.
Her peace, home, and the smile in her eyes all vanished by the final scene.
What remained was a dying corpse of her normal life.
She became what we call a —"refugee."
According to Stirling, Save the Children wanted to “make something that would resonate globally and feel contemporary and relevant to modern audiences.”
They wanted to use a relatable medium to show the terrible events that child refugees experience daily.
And indeed, this ad did that—it made a massive impact!
Within 5 days, it gained 21 million views and was viral.
It won numerous awards and became the first non-profit video ad to be named the most popular advertisement of the month on YouTube.
The success of the video was so immense that the charity also created a follow-up.
Not only was it a video marketing win, but the ad also achieved its intended goal.
Save the Children saw a 25% increase in regular donations for the Syrian refugee crisis, along with a significant boost in engagement across all their social media channels.
Here’s how you too can make a viral YouTube video. Do read!
I never knew this was an ad for Metro Trains, I always thought this was the soundtrack to a game!
That's a testament to its success.
Metro Trains worked hard to create an ad that doesn’t feel like one. You know what I mean, right?
It starts as a hilarious and adorable animated video but ends with a much-needed message.
The video shows people doing dumb things and ending up dead—like dressing up as a deer during hunting season, using private parts as piranha bait, or eating a two-week-old refrigerated pie.
It's all funny until the last few seconds when the real message comes through.
It highlights how people do dumb things like standing on station platforms listening to music with earphones or running across tracks after a balloon.
Metro Trains created this video to connect with the youth in Melbourne, Australia, who exhibited careless behavior around trains.
And their hard work paid off—"Dumb Ways to Die" is now the most shared public service announcement in history!
The video had 2.5 million views within 48 hours and over 4.7 million views within 72 hours, and the song reached the Top 10 on the iTunes chart.
And, most importantly, the ad led to a 21% reduction in railway accidents and deaths.
On this list, we've seen ads covering tough topics like child abuse, fake deaths, and even provocative content.
But guess what the ad that almost got banned is about—it’s about climate change!
Viewers reacted strongly to the use of a worried-looking child in the video, leading to complaints filed with the ASA.
Despite this, the ad managed to avoid being banned under the government’s “Act on CO2” initiative.
The video ad tells a bedtime story that could keep you up at night.
In a cozy bedroom, a father is shown reading to his daughter about a land plagued by heatwaves, where animals and people are devastated, some drowning in floods—all because of a monster named CO2.
These visuals, though animated, instill fear in us by vividly portraying the harsh reality of climate change in our world today.
But amidst the dire scenes, there's hope—the video suggests that people can change their daily habits and fight CO2 emissions.
However, it leaves us with a lingering question: “Is there a happy ending?”
But what happens after that, is there an end?
The video left us hanging with a closing question—‘Is there a happy ending?’
This isn’t just a fairy tale; it’s a story in the making—our decisions will determine whether it ends happily or not in the future.
Let's cultivate a better world!
Not one where animals are pumped full of medicine, squished into squares of meat, and transported in trucks.
That’s the message of this animated video ad.
It strikes a chord with anyone concerned about animal welfare.
It uses powerful imagery of animals undergoing these processes to reflect on farming practices.
The shocking visuals, paired with a haunting soundtrack, are enough to give you chills.
As a result, this viral video sparked an international conversation.
Remarkably, even McDonald’s announced plans to phase out inhumane pig crates just one day after its release.
If Santa had a disease, research could find a way to fix it.
And the same goes for people!
This animated ad by Alzheimer’s UK tackles an important issue by connecting it to a beloved cultural icon—Christmas—to make it more relatable and get people talking.
The video, narrated like a fairytale, pulls at the heartstrings.
It starts with a forgotten box containing a forgotten Santa toy.
Freya's father explains that Santa stopped coming because one Christmas Eve, things started to go wrong.
Santa began mixing up presents and muddling names.
He seemed sad, distant, and afraid.
Year by year, it got worse and one day he finally stopped coming.
Freya wasn't convinced by this story.
Determined to help, she believed something could be done.
She rallied the elves and showed them that Santa could be mended.
Her final line, "I believe in you, Santa," touched me deeply.
The call to action of the video explains that Alzheimer’s is a common cause of dementia and can affect anyone.
But with public support and donations, a cure can be found.
The sensitive nature of the video led to complaints from shocked parents who felt it was too upsetting for children.
However, since the ad aired only after 7:30 p.m., the ASA ruled it did not violate the UK’s advertising code.
The two-minute video campaign raised £55,000 overall!
This is a hard-hitting and difficult-to-watch video ad but is still one of the best video ads out there.
It tackles issues like child abuse, crime, and drug use.
The ad shows a teen girl being abused, doing drugs, and stealing—all on a loop, like a broken record.
The repetition drives home how horrific it is to witness the same offenses repeated and emphasizes that there are children living this cycle every day.
And this will continue until someone puts a stop to it.
Because of the intense scenes in the video ad, ASA received over 800 complaints about it.
However, the ad escaped a ban as the ASA concluded that the message justified the strong imagery.
This powerful ad, Barnardo's first venture into video marketing, is possibly the most challenging to watch on this list, but it effectively raised much-needed awareness for a great charity.
This Edeka Christmas ad really touched me.
Pass the tissues!
The ad divided audiences worldwide.
It starts with an old man waiting to meet his family for Christmas.
But there's a change of plans—no one's coming because they're busy and will try to make it next year.
The old man is sad, and his scenes sitting alone at the table tug at your heartstrings.
The video continues, and we see his family receiving the news of his death. They are devastated and rush home.
Only to find the old man alive and well.
He faked his death just so his family would visit him on Christmas.
It made some people cry, some laugh, and some were outraged (don’t ask why).
Despite the mixed reactions, this ad achieved what all great ads aim for—it got people talking!
As a result, the video has been viewed over 69 million times on YouTube, even surpassing the always-anticipated John Lewis and Sainsbury’s Christmas ads.
To learn more about YouTube Video ads, you can also try reading our other blog.
There’s a clock ticking!
It’s the age clock for girls living in poverty.
By 12, they’re seen as women. By 14, they’re married. By 15, pregnant.
Forced to sell their bodies to support their families, they contract and spread HIV—all before adulthood.
How about we rewind time and stop this cycle?
Let her study, be in a safe environment, visit a doctor regularly, and become a woman on her own terms.
She can then make her own choices, including becoming a mother when she’s ready.
This can pave the way to a safer world for her daughter, who can continue the cycle for her the generations to come.
This video by the Nike Foundation portrays the reality for many young girls in poverty, mixing hard-hitting facts with disturbing images.
It effectively conveys its message and has received numerous awards, including TED's Top Ten Ads Worth Spreading.
However, it has also sparked controversy for focusing solely on improving the well-being of girls in poverty, neglecting boys.
When asked about this, CEO Maria Eitel had this to say:
“We definitely want to see men and boys understanding that the girl effect is about everyone.
The World Bank is about to put out a study that talks about the opportunity cost of not investing in a girl.
So it turns out if girls in Nigeria could finish secondary school they’d add 40 billion dollars to their national economy over their lifetimes.
And if young women in Paraguay had jobless rates similar to those of young men, annual GDP growth rates would be 3.3 percentage points higher.
Numbers like these pop up all over the world and they tell us when girls are excluded, we all lose.
If we’re interested in global economic growth then all of the male business and government leaders need to get behind the girl effect, and so do all of the fathers, brothers, and male teachers in all of the world’s communities.”
I remember watching this video when I was in fact a little girl.
It made me realize that "Like a Girl" isn't an insult.
The video by Always starts off light-hearted, almost like a typical audition or a fun video clip.
But, suddenly, an off-camera director asks actors to perform actions "Like a Girl," and then they ask young girls the same.
The actors portray running and fighting "like a girl" with exaggerated, overly feminine movements.
But the young girls run and fight naturally—as any normal person would do.
Guess why?
They were free from any stereotypes.
The video revealed the shock factor—girls grow up thinking "Like a Girl" is an insult.
They usually discover this during puberty, when they feel most insecure.
This non-commercial ad cleverly changes the perception of "Like a Girl" for both the actors and us viewers alike.
It also sparked a powerful response for Always, with #LikeAGirl tweeted 177,000 times in the first three months and a 50% increase in purchase intent!
This proves that you don't have to be a charity to create a video with a meaningful message.
A thought-provoking ad campaign can work wonders for any brand's marketing strategy if done right.
Smell Like a Man, Man!
This video by Old Spice starts with Isaiah Mustafa addressing the viewer directly.
The scenes in the video change in a whirlwind and take you on an imaginative journey.
One moment, Mustafa is in a towel, talking non-stop, then suddenly, he's on a boat, wearing a shirt on his shoulders, holding an oyster with tickets to something you want to go to.
And just like that, the oyster is full of diamonds, and he's on a horse, holding a bottle of Old Spice.
Basically, throughout the video, he is saying that anything is possible when you smell like a man.
Old Spice rejuvenated its brand image with this 2010 campaign.
But it wasn’t free from controversy.
The ad's portrayal of hyper-masculinity and its tongue-in-cheek approach to gender stereotypes sparked some debate, with a few viewers criticizing it for reinforcing outdated norms.
Despite this, the campaign was a viral sensation, significantly boosting Old Spice's sales and brand recognition.
The ad's quirky humor, clever scriptwriting, and Mustafa's engaging monologue performance captured the audience's imagination.
It demonstrated the effectiveness of humor and originality in rebranding efforts, making Old Spice relevant to a younger audience.
Here's another detailed blog about the 50 best all time commercials. Check it out too!
How was this journey through the best shocking video ads?
Each one had its own twist, right?
Some made you cry, some made you think, some sparked a laugh, and some just sparked a much-needed fear or revelation.
These videos prove that videos ‘Can’ make a difference.
Your video can make a difference too.
What is needed is—just a great storyline, stunning visuals, and a touch of shock factor.
Don't let your stories go unheard!
Share your videos and inspire the world.
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