An Uber Eats campaign warning about the dangers of running out of treats on Halloween night has been labelled as the ‘scariest’ advert of all time.
Creative effectiveness platform DAIVID has used its content testing platform to measure the emotions people feel while watching ads to labelled the Uber spot as ‘most terrifying’.
Other adverts featured on the list include films initially showcased globally across social, but were then banned from YouTube and TV for being ‘too shocking’ and ‘distressing’.
Yet topping the list of the scariest ads of all time was Uber Eats’ “Don’t Run Out”, a Halloween advert that scored 72.7 (out of a possible scariness score of 100).
Labelled the ‘scariest’ advert, the campaign was 2.1 times more likely to leave people feeling anxious than the average ad, 1.7 times more likely to generate feelings of horror and 1.8 times more likely to leave viewers feeling fearful.
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The Halloween campaign also scored the second highest among all the ads in the chart for brand recall (85%), demonstrating just how effective intense feelings can be at driving strong memories among consumers
“We all know emotions play a key role in ad effectiveness – and you don’t get many events in the calendar year more likely to elicit intense emotions than Halloween,” said DAIVID CEO and founder, Ian Forrester.
“Uber Eats certainly did that with its terrifying campaign ‘Don’t Run Out’, but what I found really interesting was how the ad also drove strong brand metrics – brand recall, in particular, was very strong
“This is what the best Halloween ads do. It’s not just about scaring people, the best brands combine these strong emotions with a powerful brand story to create brand memories, which in turn drives action.”
10. Little Baby’s Ice Cream’s ‘This is a Special Time’ – 61.7
A frankly unsettling 2012 Halloween campaign for Little Baby’s Ice Cream, scored a possible 61.7 out of 100 points
9. K-Fee’s ‘Car Commercial’ – 62.3
For those of us who recognise that dreaded car and road journey, we’ve already scrolled on. And for those of us who don’t recognise it, enjoy K-Fee’s 2004 advert, which scored 62.3 points.
8. Warner Bros/New Line’s ‘The Nun’ – 62.3
A shocking Warner Bros teaser for its upcoming movie, ‘The Nun’ was banned from YouTube in 2018. Now officially taken down, this YouTube account has posted a clip of it.
7. Burger King’s ‘Scary Clown Night’ – 65.0
This 2017 creepy film for the fast-food giant featured some scary-looking clowns and was accompanied by a consumer competition for a ‘free whopper’.
6. Deep Silver’s ‘Dead Island Trailer’ – 66.7
This 2011 Halloween spot sees Zombies invade paradise.
5. Dirt Devil’ ‘The Exorcist’ – 69.0
Rounding up the top 5, Dirt Devil’s spoof of the classic horror movie, The Exorcist, was released in 2011.
4. Autoway Tyres’ ‘Scary Ad’ – 69.3
This terrifying advert for a tyre firm was first unveiled in 2013 and comes with a faux warning.
3. Thorpe Parks’ ‘Count the Snow Bunnies’ – 71.3
In close third place, Thorpe Park’s 2016 Christmas and Halloween campaign scored 71.3 points.
2. Spotify’s ‘Killer Songs You Can’t Resist’ – 72.3
Banned for being “unduly distressing” and “shocking”, Spotify’s 2018 advert received 72.3 out of 100 possible points.
1. Uber Eats’ ‘Don’t Run Out’
This 2018 advert tops the chart as the most nightmare-inducing advert of all time according to DAIVID, scoring 72.7 out of 100 points.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJfMGntAs9k&t=4s
