Autoway Tires’ ad not only makes it to the list of scariest ads ever made but is in the top three quite often.

This Japanese company even put out a health warning and disclaimer of liabilities arising from injury, illness and damage before screening the ad. A car is driving and the people inside see a ghostly woman appearing in the distance and suddenly, she is in their face, after which the car reverses at top speed – to show the ability of the tyres.

Another commercial that qualifies to be on the list of scariest ads ever is the Phones4U ad that shows a young girl’s ghost haunting a woman in a basement car park – to accompany the company’s line that missing its good deals will haunt you forever. A lot of people got spooked – with the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority saying it got more than 300 complaints about the ad.

Another campaign that makes it to this list is one by K-Fee, a German energy drink brand, that shows screamers or zombies pop up suddenly on the TV in the midst of a tranquil scene.

Dark and Lonely Water , a 1973 public service film made in the UK to warn children of the dangers of being careless around water, was so menacingly effective that it put many children off swimming. It was commissioned by the Central Office of Information as a result of the concern over the big number of children dying in drowning accidents in the UK.

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