Name: COI – Lonely Water (1973, UK) [4K Upscale] @HelloImAPizzaToo
Uploaded: 2026-09-21T08:17:00-05:00
Duration: 8 min 17 s
Description: COI – Lonely Water (1973, UK) [4K Upscale]

COI – Lonely Water (1973, UK) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2026-09-21 | COI – Lonely Water (1973, UK) [4K Upscale]

I Cant Believe Its Not Butter – Crumpets & Corn on the Cob (2006, UK)

HelloImAPizzaToo 2025-07-24 | Part of a series of ads for the margarine brand I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, humorously playing on the fact that it's hard to tell the two Ozzies apart as it is to tell the difference between butter and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter.

Starring the Prince of Darkness himself and impersonator Jon Culshaw.

Directed by Danny Kleinman.

Guinness – Bet on Black (2000, UK) [4K 50FPS]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2025-06-26 | Following on from the success of 'Surfer', 'Bet on Black' saw the return to the coloured filmography of the first ad in the series, 'Swimblack' (only to return to black and white once more in the succeeding ad 'Dreamer'). This time, we see a different kind of sporting event taking place. Taking place in a Cuban town, we see a miniature racetrack being assembled. Soon enough, punters swarm a shanty-looking warehouse, placing bets and drinking Guinness as they anticipate the race. We then realise the small track is actually a race course for snails as the snails are put into position at the starting line. The announcer then announces the race before firing a starting pistol. The mood quickly changes when the music stops and we see the disappointed punters looking down at the snails, who are not moving. 14 seconds later though, the snails jet off rather comically, moving almost as quick as a slot car as the crowd follow the snails in exhilaration. One snail races across the finishing line, and given the name of the advert, the winner is assumedly named Black. We then see the crowd and the announcer celebrate the victory with pints of Guinness, before seeing Black in an empty tipped over Guinness glass while the famous slogan appears.

Interestingly, this ad actually coincided with the "Guinness Gastropod Championship", which was an actual snail racing championship held in an Irish pub in London, the race of which was the first of its kind to be held in the city...

...wherever you get your kicks, I guess.

Like most of its iconic adverts, this ad was later self-parodied to promote their 'Extra Cold' brand, which can be found here: youtube.com/watch?v=HDDFCqQDSAI

Guinness – Swimblack (1998, UK) [4K 50FPS]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2025-06-26 | And so we reach the very beginning of Guinness' most famous "Good things come to wait" campaign, which hoped to reverse the negative consumer opinion of the length of time to correctly pour a pint of Guinness, taking on average 119.5 seconds. Preceding their iconic 'Surfer' ad, we see the brother of an aging local sports hero describe his annual swimming racing event where his brother races from an offshore buoy to his seafront pub against the 'clock' of a Guinness being poured at the bar – once his brother reaches the buoy, he starts the clock. Unbeaten for many years, the hero expresses angst to his brother if he'll ever 'lose' to the pint due to old age... but the brother declares to him that he'll "never lose", mostly due to him starting the clock a little later each year.

The ad is set in the remote Italian village of Monopoli, and interestingly enough they used local villagers for the crowd scenes. The ad is also set against Pérez Prado's "Mambo No. 5" (the hit Lou Bega version coming out the following year).

I miss ads like these. I know I was only a few years old when ads like this were on TV, and I don't think I remember seeing this particular one, but you can't beat a simple but effective bit of storytelling and clever writing: no gimmicks, no annoying jingles, no CGI. God now I sound like one of those annoying oldies looking back on their youth saying "things were so much better back then". But I do feel like the 90s and 2000s were two of the last decades where things felt... I don't know... more meaningful. It feels like nothing is made with passion anymore, and I'm not just talking about TV adverts. Obviously that's just my opinion and you may disagree, but you just won't get ads like this made ever again, I feel.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk that you didn't sign up to. You're welcome.

Guinness – Anticipation (1994, Ireland) [4K 50FPS]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2025-06-26 | A patron (Joe McKinney) orders a pint of the black stuff from a barman (Gordon Winter). While he eagerly waits for his pint to settle in the foreground, the patron carries out a variety of quirky dance moves, much to the amusement of the barman. With his pint finally settled, the ad ends with the patron taking his first sip of Guinness, with an overlay of their slogan at the time, "There's no time like Guinness time".

'Anticipation' became an overnight success in Ireland thanks to its distinctive use of jump cut editing to make the patron's variety of movements look more fluid and continuous, eventually airing in the UK the following year and for many years after that. McKinney himself attracted a cult following, even travelling around Europe between 1994 and 1996 to make personal appearances on behalf of Guinness. Alas, the lifestyle became too much for McKinney, and he gave up alcohol entirely in 1997. McKinney also found himself being typecast as "the Guinness man" and so consequently spent time in America where the ad did not air.

Not only that, Arks Ltd (those contracted by Guinness to run the ad in Ireland) were hit with a lawsuit shortly after the ad first aired by director Mehdi Norowzian (of DETR's millennium campaign notoriety), who claimed that his 1992 short film 'Joy' shared an uncanny likeness to 'Anticipation', not least because Arks Ltd initially approached him to direct the ad after viewing 'Joy' and writing a script for the ad based off of it, but Norowzian ultimately refused. However, the Court of Appeal unanimously decided that 'Anticipation' did not significantly copy any portion of 'Joy', and Norowzian was ordered to pay Arks Ltd a whopping £200,000 in legal costs. The case resulted in the Institute of Contemporary Arts calling for a reform of copyright law in the UK.

The ad subsequently went down as one of Guinness' most recognised adverts, and opened the door for a new wave of artistic advertising which flourished during the late 1990s and early-mid 2000s, not least the start of their "Good things come to those who wait" campaign which shortly followed, introducing us to the likes of 'Swimblack', 'Bet on Black', and of course their most acclaimed advert, 'Surfer'.

Not a fan of Guinness myself, though. Tastes like ear wax.

Weird 'follow up' ad featuring McKinney can be found here: youtube.com/watch?v=2sGvJOCBtms
And a self-parody they made featuring an Inuit person for their 'Extra Cold' campaign the following decade can be found here: youtube.com/watch?v=9bWXFpVSrso

Orange – Lonely Friends (2009, UK) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2025-03-30 | Post-Oz, the Wicked Witch of the West (played by an actress with an uncanny resemblance to Margaret Hamilton of the original 1939 film) lives a much less wicked lifestyle in suburban England with her newfound friend, Vicki. In this ad to promote Orange's 'Orange Wednesdays' 2-for-1 cinema tickets, we see the pair go dress shopping, play in the park, play on arcade dance machines, and go to the cinema - with of course a flying monkey tagalong and even a brief confrontation with a terrier resembling Toto.

Starring Rachel Edwards as the Witch and Catherine Steadman as Vicki.

Voiceover by James Corden.

Credits:
Dave Day, Fallon London - Art Director
Lawrence Seftel, Fallon London - Writer
Tony McTear, Fallon London - Group Creative Director
Richard Flintham, Fallon London - Executive Creative Director
Danny Cohen, Hungry Man - Director of Photography
Alaster Jordan, The Whitehouse - Editor
MPC - Online Editor/Visual Effects
Hank Perlman, Hungry Man - Director
Stuartist Bowden/Tim Millar, Fallon London - Planners
Gemma Knight, Fallon London/Tim Nunn, Hungry Man - Producers
Mediaedge/CIA - Media Agency
Justin Billingsley/Spencer McHugh - Clients

Original:
vimeo.com/66357871

Ad Council | Environmental Defence Fund – Tick & Train (2006, USA) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2024-10-22 | Two ominous and overtly threatening 'global warming' PSAs (and threatening for a good reason) courtesy of the Environmental Defence Fund to promote their fightglobalwarming.com website.

You may recall that I included both of these in my original Top 50: Scariest PSAs video way back when (good ol' times). You might notice that this version of 'Tick' however is different to the one I used then. Instead of the familiar, somewhat hopeful ending, "Our future is up to you," the girl at the end now says, a lot more menacingly, "...and the worst is yet to come."

It’s unfortunate they changed the ending to the one less intimidating. The worst really was to come, and even nearly 20 years later (bloody hell!), these PSAs resonate more than ever.

Apologies for the slightly weird frame 'blending' effects on these - I had to convert them to 30fps from a measly 14fps!

Upscaled into 4K 30fps using Topaz AI.

Originals:
Tick – vimeo.com/30693135
Train – vimeo.com/28683749

U29tZXRoaW5nIGlzIGNvbWluZyBzb29u

AT&T | It Can Wait – Forrest & Caleb (2018, USA)

HelloImAPizzaToo 2024-10-17 | Two heartbreaking PSAs from AT&T's "It Can Wait" campaign depict what Forrest Cepeda and Caleb Sorohan might look like today if they hadn't lost their lives in texting-related driving accidents.

Directed by Errol Morris.

Upscaled into 4K using Topaz AI.
Originals:
Forrest – vimeo.com/313248066
Caleb – vimeo.com/313247829

Watch more of Forrest's and Caleb's stories here:
Forrest – vimeo.com/313248338
Caleb – vimeo.com/313248181

The Alcohol Committee – Apartment, Garage & Tailgate (2006, Sweden) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2024-10-16 | CC available. Here’s a collection of unsettling PSAs from The Alcohol Committee (Alkoholkommitten) in Sweden, highlighting the issue of selling alcohol to minors. This seems to have been (and perhaps still is) a significant concern in Sweden, as evidenced by similar campaigns from Systembolaget a few years back (you know, the ones with that weird Papi Raul character kicking little kids out of airplanes).

I love these — they're wonderfully creepy. From the eerie jukebox music to the unsettling rapid shots at the end that reveal the grim fates of the teens, they’re bound to send a few goosebumps down your spine, especially when watched in a dark room at night.

Upscaled into 4K using Topaz AI.

Originals:
"Lägenheten" vimeo.com/40214752
"Garaget" vimeo.com/40214734
"Bakluckan" vimeo.com/40214708

Fire Kills – I Found (2004, UK) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2024-10-14 | A fireman holds his children that little bit tighter after he chillingly recounts a moment where he found the bodies of two young children in a wardrobe, where they hid during a house fire.

Directed by Dexter Ginn, who also directed the "Nightvision" campaign.

Upscaled in 4K using Topaz AI.
Original: vimeo.com/915948373

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency – Toll Booth (2022, New Zealand) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2024-10-08 | An innocent family enjoys an adventure out in the pristine swooping valleys of the New Zealand countryside - that is until they run into a very ominous-looking lady at a toll booth, who demands payment of something a lot more sinister.

Credits
Creative Agency: FCB Aotearoa
Media Agency: FCB Media
Production Company: 3&7
Director: Steve Ayson
Producer: Larisa Tiffin
DOP: Marty Williams
Editor: Luke Haigh
Online: Blockhead
Music: Cam Ballantyne
Photographer: Steve Boniface

Upscaled into 4K using Topaz AI.
Original: vimeo.com/677977279

Partnership Against Drugs – Rewind (2003, Brazil) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2024-09-15 | Harrowing anti-drugs PSA from Brazil's Partnership Against Drugs, featuring a young man who starts a bloody cycle of violence after buying drugs from a dealer who, unbeknownst to him, ends up supplying a firearm to the thug who ultimately kills his own mother.

This one has always stuck with me as being one of the most upsetting anti-drugs PSAs, and the guy's screams for his mother after seeing her being shot dead in front of him are haunting to say the least.

For those wondering what the narrator is saying at the end, he says something along the lines of: "Who finances violence? It is drug trafficking. And who sustains the traffic? It's you. If you're going to buy, remember your price."

Here it is in reverse (or rather, 'unreversed') for anyone curious: youtu.be/vOpyGG8G1Nc

Upscaled in 4K using AI software.
Original: vimeo.com/353424830

Scottish Police Federation – Maggie (2014, UK) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2024-09-14 | One of three films commissioned by the Scottish Police Federation, placing police officers in three difficult scenarios where they need to make snap decisions and asking us what we would do if we were them.

This one is arguably the creepiest of the three. We see two officers attend a property where a neighbour has reported screams and possible domestic abuse. When they enter the house to investigate, things quickly take a dark turn, leaving Maggie in a compromising situation before asking us what we would do in her shoes (though sadly, in the real world, we wouldn't always have any time to think).

Upscaled into 4K using Topaz AI.
Original: vimeo.com/89116303

Watch the other two parts here:
"Robert" youtube.com/watch?v=Xs6sQajxlMY
"Andrew" youtube.com/watch?v=x2P8yO4Pmxk

COI – Dave (1995, UK) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2024-09-08 | Controversial drink-driving PIF from the mid-90s, courtesy of Safety on the Move for their notorious "Drinking and driving wrecks lives" campaign. Apparently, it was eventually taken off the air after receiving complaints. That didn't stop it from becoming one of the most well-known anti drink-driving PIFs of all time.

The ad begins with audio from a group of men pressuring their friend, named Dave (played by Daniel Ryan), into having another drink, while we see an older woman in a kitchen blitz up a Christmas dinner in a blender. After a short objection, Dave finally gives in to his friends, before it reveals a now-paralysed Dave sat in an armchair, being fed the blitzed food by his mother. Like his friends encouraging him to have another drink, his mum is now encouraging him to have "just one more" mouthful of the goop, which slowly seeps out of his mouth.

As much as I love this one, I never not find it gross from a sensory point of view seeing the food all around his mouth. But I guess that was the point.

Directed by Mike Stephenson.

Upscaled into 4K using Topaz AI.
Original: archive.org/details/dave_20210925

Beyond Blue – I Am Anxiety (2013, Australia) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2024-09-05 | Anxiety is personified in a haunting performance by Ben Mendelsohn which is guaranteed to give you goosebumps. It is portrayed as being a sadistic, omnipresent bully - and it's probably the most accurate depiction of anxiety out there.

Directed by Paul Goldman.

Upscaled into 4K using Topaz AI.
Original: vimeo.com/231241082

Transport for London | Think! – Dead Man Talking (2013, UK) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2024-09-02 | We see a close-up shot of a man's face while he talks to us about the things he could be doing right now, such as watching TV with his kids or going for a pint at the pub. It quickly dawns on us that he's lying in the middle of a road, with blood seeping out of his ear. As the camera pans out, we can see paramedics attempting to revive him, but he calmly explains that nothing can be done to save his life as his lungs slowly fill with blood after being knocked off his motorbike. "Still, you live and learn", the man concludes, "...don't you?".

Directed by Andy Mcleod at Rattling Stick.

Upscaled into 4K using Topaz AI.
Original: campaignlive.com/article/transport-london-dead-man-talking-m-c-saatchi/1189339

Guinness – Surfer (1999, UK) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2024-09-01 | "Here's to you, Ahab."

Celebrating 25 years of what's deemed to be the greatest advert of all time, now upscaled into 4K and smooth 50fps interpolation for your viewing pleasure.

Read more about this awesome advert here:
https://creative.salon/articles/features/guinness-surfer-learnings-qotw
surfertoday.com/surfing/one-of-the-most-exciting-surfing-ads/amp
youtu.be/bO4bA_RPi7s

Directed by the one and only Jonathan Glazer.

Upscaled into 4K 50fps using Topaz AI.
Original: vimeo.com/152545617

Public Health England - Baby (2018*, UK) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2024-08-31 | A creepy PIF from Public Health England about smoking during pregnancy. It features creepy shots of a newborn baby trapped inside a plastic cigarette packet filled with smoke, with text appearing between each shot describing how damaging smoking during pregnancy is.

*I couldn't find much on this PIF, weirdly. I found another version of this that was apparently made for iPads on Vimeo, but other than that, I couldn't find any information about this particular campaign. So I've went with the year that it was uploaded to Vimeo. If you're able to find any further information, do let me know!

Upscaled into 4K using Topaz AI.
Original: vimeo.com/405014862

NSPCC – Ventriloquist (2004, UK) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2024-08-24 | Words cannot begin to express how terrified I was of this PIF as a child.

I love that "No." though. That must have burned.

Upscaled into 4K using Topaz.
Original: vimeo.com/84878364

Northern Ireland Office – I Wanna Be Like You (Northern Ireland, 1993) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2024-08-18 | Also known as that "Cat's in the Cradle" anti-terrorism PIF from Northern Ireland, this one has gone down in history as one of the saddest and most powerful PIFs ever made. Made just 5 years before The Troubles conflict in Northern Ireland came to an end in 1998, this PIF for a confidential telephone line where callers could anonymously report terrorism-related activity doesn't shy away from really pulling at the heartstrings.

Set against the lyrics of the famous song by Harry Chapin, a young father welcomes his newborn son into the world, but his life is quickly consumed by paramilitarism and terror to the point where he neglects his family. As his son grows older, more and more opportunities to spend time with his son are missed. After his release from prison years later, now older and wiser, the father tries to rekindle his relationship with his son - but he quickly realises the futility of violence when his son ends up following in his footsteps. Only this time, his son isn't as fortunate to escape the murderous lifestyle with his life intact as he was.

Apparently, there was an increase of 729% in useful calls to the terrorism hotline when this PIF aired, and was described by the Secretary of State as a "potent weapon in the fight against terrorism". Just goes to show you how powerful this 2-and-a-half-minute film really was.

Also, apologies for the stretched-out aspect ratio - it's like this in the original, for some reason it didn't click until someone pointed it out after I already uploaded!

Produced by Lyle Bailie International (yes, THAT Lyle Bailie... the same ones who later brought us those DOE PIFs).

Upscaled into 4K using Topaz AI.
Original: vimeo.com/124393053

bullying.org – Collecting Rocks (2003, Canada)

HelloImAPizzaToo 2024-08-18 | A powerful anti-bullying PSA from bullying.org, a website from the 2000s which seems to have been a safe space where bullied kids could visit for help and advice on bullying. It starts out rather innocently: we see a young boy walking around a park collecting a variety of large rocks and putting them in his backpack. 'What's he going to do with those?' you'll be wondering...

Well, it turns out that this PSA is based on the true story of Hamed Nastoh - a 14-year-old boy who jumped to his death from the Pattullo Bridge in Canada after being repeatedly bullied at school. His body was found the next day, wearing a backpack filled with rocks to weigh himself down.

PSAs like these, although shocking and brutal, will never not be sad. It makes you wonder what kind of life Hamed would be living right now if he was still alive. He was excelling at school, his average grades scoring over 90%, of which his high academic achievements were one of the many things he was bullied for. He may have even changed the world with the great things he could have achieved in life - but these were all cut way too short.

Kids (and adults alike) can be so cruel, especially in this day and age, with the rise of "free speech" patriots, and the ever-increasing spiel of constant toxicity you can find on all the major social networks. In fact, there seems to be a huge market in saying the most cruel and callous things you could ever possibly contrive these days, and people endorse it in their millions. We need this message now more than ever: words do hurt and can have devastating consequences.

Is it really too much effort to be kind?

Directed by Wade Sherman.
Original: vimeo.com/219389693

COI – Control (1985, UK) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2024-08-17 | Here we have the male variant of the "Dummy" PIF which I've uploaded before, courtesy of the Central Office of Information (COI) / Health Education Authority (HEA) for their "Heroin Screws You Up" campaign from the mid-80s.

Like "Dummy", we again have the opening soundtrack to Blade Runner. However this time, instead of focusing on "don't do heroin, or you'll lose your looks and friends", which would stereotypically be aimed at the younger female audience, we have a young bloke spiraling into addiction and dependency while being in a constant state of denial that he is in control of his heroin use and could quit at any time. Similarly, this would have been aimed more at the young male demographic, who would stereotypically be more overconfident in thinking they were in control of their own mind and could never let themselves get addicted, despite it being one of the most addictive substances on the planet.

I wouldn't say I like this one as much as the other one, but it is still quite unsettling seeing a man slowly spiral into drug dependency and denial... though at the end, we do get the suggestion that maybe he's realised that he's not as in control as he first believed: "I could give up tomorrow... couldn't I?"

Also, side fact (courtesy of TVark.org): "Heroin was a trademark of Bayer, the makers of Viagra, and was originally an over-the-counter opioid, marketed as "non-addictive" and a "cough suppressant" and was available in a hamper during WW1 that could be ordered from Fortnum & Mason and sent to the boys at the front".

The more you know.

Upscaled into 4K using Topaz AI.
Original: wellcomecollection.org/works/cs7eqg2r

DfT – My House (2002, UK) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2024-08-15 | DEBBEH!!!!

Upscaled into 4K using Topaz AI.
Original: tinyurl.com/yn45w6zd

Ngala – Shaken Baby (2003, Australia) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2024-08-15 | Don't shake babies. They break when you do that.

Upscaled into 4K using Topaz AI.
Original: vimeo.com/36263814

MTV | Switch – Mute (2007, Portugal) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2024-08-14 | Here is a global warming (though we're not supposed to use that term anymore) PSA courtesy of MTV for their 'Switch' campaign from the mid-2000s, a campaign which appears to have been solely on fighting climate change (the more appropriate term).

Although this PSA is from Portugal, I used to see this play quite a lot during ad breaks here in the UK on the MTV channel (or one of their affiliate channels they seem to have an abundance of back then).

I'm not entirely sure why, but I used to find this PSA quite unnerving - it was probably the lack of sound bar the sound of ocean waves, and the sort of washed-out colours added to the topic of global warming itself, which used to frighten me a lot back then (and still sorta does now, though at this point I've come to terms with the fact that the planet is screwed irreparably).

All in all, it's a pretty good PSA. It's another one of those PSAs that don't have to resort to graphic visuals or imagery to get their message across... in fact, all they use is sign language - and I like how they played on the "using your hands" thing at the end. Probably not the best PSA for blind or visually impaired people though... it must have been confusing to just hear the sound of waves for a good minute and a half during an ad break. Conversely, a great one for deaf people.

Also, brownie points if you can spot the typo.

Upscaled into 4K using Topaz AI.
Original: vimeo.com/73835991

COI | Department of Health – Janice (2003, UK) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2024-08-12 | A haunting anti-smoking PIF from the Department of Health for their "Don't give up giving up" campaign from the early 2000s. I remember this campaign really well, especially this particular PIF. The ongoing sound of Janice struggling to breathe throughout the entirety of this PIF is somewhat of a perfect loop to epitomize the permanency of her condition: "This is me for the rest of my life now."

No scare tactics. No shocking images. Just the long pauses between the words of a 51-year-old woman while she struggles to breathe. Simple, yet effective.

Upscaled into 4K using Topaz AI.
Original: player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-anti-smoking-campaign-wales-janice-2003-online

There seems to be a brief glitch in the video at 0:11 - apologies for this, this also happens in the original seen above.

DOE – Damage (2002, UK) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2024-07-28 | "This is Michael. Today, he's going to hit his girlfriend so hard, she ends up with permanent brain damage."

Ah, the DOE. The gift that kept on giving at one point. You've seen the likes of 'Shame', 'Mess', and more recently, 'Classroom' - the melodramatic ways in which cars can roll over, do backflips and flatten people like pancakes. And this one is no exception - here though, we have a young unbuckled lad doing a whole entire Cirque du Soleil performance all within a fraction of a few seconds, flying around the interior of a small hatchback doing acrobatics, breaking his buckled friends' necks in the process, before finally diving full force straight into his girlfriend's head, using her as his own personal crashmat - how very considerate of her!

In all seriousness though, I'm sure this made a lot of people buckle up, and it has gone down in history as being one of the most influential seatbelt PIFs ever made. Sure, you probably won't do a whole circus act as Michael did, but this along with the likes of 'Julie' and 'Elephant' really did hit home just how important buckling up is - not just for your own safety, but for the safety of other occupants too.

For those struggling to understand the thick Irish accent of the paramedic at the end, he says: "Three dead in this vehicle - a girl who's critical. They say the guy without the seatbelt did the damage."

Song: 'Body II Body' by Samantha Mumba, which heavily sampled David Bowie's 'Ashes to Ashes'.

Upscaled into 4K using Topaz AI.
Original: vimeo.com/453757902

Barclays – Hospital (2017, UK) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2024-07-28 | Here's another unnecessarily creepy ad for you, courtesy of Barclays bank for their online fraud prevention campaign.

You would think this is a PIF/PSA the way it starts out: we see a young man who's been badly injured in a motorcycle crash in a foreign country being rushed to hospital, while he pleads with the viewer that he needs help to pay for his hospital fees. Just as he's about to give us the hospital's bank details, however, he sits up from his stretcher, his face changed from panic and woe to something a lot more sinister, staring at the camera without blinking or uttering a word. There's not a single sound while he raises himself up - he's very clearly not in any sort of pain or distress at all. His face is in line with ours, still staring into our souls before threateningly uttering "I wouldn't... if I were you". It's revealed that the whole thing has been a sham and that the young bloke we thought we knew and had been badly injured in a bike crash is actually an imposter of someone whose email account had been hacked.

Again, did they need to be this creepy to get their message across?! I remember seeing this on TV quite a lot at the time, almost every ad break, and bear in mind even though I was in my early 20s when this came out, it still evoked that same fear response I experienced as a child from seeing creepy stuff like this on TV. Even now, some years later, I still find his creepy stare somewhat hard to tolerate. And it's just the way all the sound cuts off, how he gets up from the stretcher in one movement with a single uninterrupted shot, his line of sight not breaking with ours. It really does bring out that primordial fear in you.

Upscaled into 4K using Topas AI.
Original: vimeo.com/253346330

Directed by James Rouse at Outsider.

Boots | Soltan – Skin Scope (2004, UK) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2024-07-28 | Why, hello. It's good to be back after yet another long hiatus - how has everyone been?

This time, I'm back with an advert for sun lotion by Boots, which for those who don't know is a health and beauty franchise here in the UK.

You're probably wondering why I'm back with an upscale of an ad for sun lotion - well, I have been trawling through archives quite a lot recently (I've decided to knuckle down during my free time when I'm not busy trying to become a lawyer and work on my next main project, wink wink), and I randomly thought of this rather obscure ad from my childhood.

I remember being quite freaked out by this as a kid (of which seemed to be an all too familiar occurrence if you haven't been able to tell by now - poor little me was apparently unnerved all the time back then). I think it was a mix of the grungy intimidating music, the rather weird shots of the half-naked models just standing there looking gormless, the creepy whispering and then the unnerving before and after shots of the heavily-freckled and sun damaged skin of the models. Something about it just didn't sit right with me - and although it's an advert for sun cream which is obviously super important, surely they didn't have to be that unnecessarily creepy to get their message across!

Maybe it's just me who still finds this ad gratuitously creepy to this day... there's just something really unnerving about the whole thing which makes the 9-year-old in me want to shut my eyes and stick my fingers in my ears. Yet I'm weirdly fascinated by how much it creeps me out.

Can you not tell that I'm a weirdo by now?

Upscaled into 4K using Topaz AI.
Original: vimeo.com/674907679

Oh, and always wear sunscreen, folks.

ECPAT – The Salesman (2000, UK)

HelloImAPizzaToo 2023-11-22 | Content warning: contains references to child sexual abuse.

A disturbing cinema PIF from the early 2000s courtesy of ECPAT (End Child Prostitution and Trafficking), which is apparently based on the true story of 'Andrew Jones', a Lance Corporal in the Ordnance Corps, stationed in Germany. He was sentenced to a psychiatric hospital by the German courts after attempting to r-word and murder a young girl. After serving 4 years, he was deported back to the UK as a free man, before becoming a salesman. Ultimately, in July 1998 he was jailed for life after abducting and r-wording the two daughters of the mother who narrates this PIF (assuming it's her real voice and not of an actress). It doesn't help that throughout her narration, a reconstruction of the salesman paying a visit to an unsuspecting home plays over it - and the scenes of him playing with and caressing the young girl, and the way he creepily stares at her before suggestively making her his next victim, really does leave a heavy sick feeling in your stomach.

Formed out of a coalition of several charities, including the NSPCC, Christian Aid, and World Vision, it apparently won an award and became fundamental to the amendment of the Register of Sex Offenders Act in the UK, which meant sexual offences committed abroad are carried over to the UK (though it makes you think why the hell that wasn't a thing before...).

Credits
Director: Tony Kaye
Creative Directors: Simon Impey and Jon Daniel.

The Samaritans – Is There Anybody Out There? (1985, UK) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2023-11-15 | A cinema PIF from The Samaritans using the imagery of a faceless person trapped behind a stretchy piece of fabric, pressing their face and hands against it as they desperately try to cry out for help, to emphasise that mental anguish knows no face and does not discriminate. Deliberately set against the Pink Floyd song of the same name, the concept was apparently based on 'The Scream' painting by Edvard Munch. The more you know.

Credits
Director: Michael Seresin
Production Company: BFCS
Art Director: Fergus Fleming
Copywriter: Simon Dicketts
Account Director: Mark Cunningham
Agency TV Producer: Martha Greene
Music: Arthur Louis
Client Supervisor: Simon Armson
Cameraman: Michael Seresin
Lighting: Michael Seresin
Post House: The Moving Picture Company
Music Studio: Nova Studios
Film Opticals: Mike Uden

Suggested by Loogi Balloogi.

Upscaled to 4K using Topaz Video AI.
Original: vimeo.com/112288553

Sci-Fi Channel – Resident Evil 4 Sponsorships (2005, UK) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2023-10-31 | Four spooky 15-second sponsorship bumpers for the Sci-Fi Channel's primetime slot, sponsored by Resident Evil 4. These were a sort of personal 'lost media' find for me. I remember vaguely seeing these on TV, but for many years after I could never exactly pinpoint what these were or where I'd seen them. All I remember is that they were for Resident Evil 4, but a Wii port of the game a few years later made me think maybe it was for that for most of that time. For a while, I just thought they were obscure adverts for the game itself, but after trawling the internet I could never find any record of them. Back then I vividly remember being weirded out and, quite frankly, scared of these. They perfectly captured the bleak, dark, ominous atmosphere of the game itself, and they were a delight to rewatch after so many years of being stored in some kind of miscellaneous filing cabinet at the back of my brain. But like most things I thought I'd forgotten about, I randomly stumbled across them last year, and it's one more obscure thing from my childhood checked off the list. Funny that.

We see a variety of people looking like they have been institutionalised in some kind of rundown mental hospital after encountering the many misfortunes our hero Leon S Kennedy (the protagonist of the game) encounters in the game itself. If you're familiar with the game, then you'll no doubt recognise some of the scenarios they describe, such as the infected demented villagers wielding chainsaws, the infamous man-eating monster in the lake, and the hooded ghouls patrolling the castle "breathing fire" (although they don't actually "breath fire" in the game, but rather it's the villagers that blow the fire from their burning torches onto you, but that's probably me being a bit pedantic). The game is also set in rural Spain, so for continuity reasons it makes sense that the poor souls in these bumpers are speaking Spanish.

Interestingly enough, the 'Evil Evolves' campaign involved a partnership between Nintendo, the Sci-Fi Channel, and Pearl & Dean that included a three-city film tour showcasing acclaimed horror movies "such as Alien, The Exorcist, and The Wicker Man" shown at cinemas in London, Leeds, and Manchester, "with an exclusive chance to sample the superb RE4 before its official 18 March release". A pretty cool marketing campaign if you ask me.

You can read more about the campaign here:
videogamer.com/news/re4-to-be-promoted-in-u-k-with-evil-evolves-film-tour
4rfv.co.uk/industrynews/38382/godman_and_devilfish_create_resident_evil_idents_for_sci_fi

Happy Halloween!

Directed by Andy Poyiadgi for Devilfish.
Upscaled into 4K using Topaz Video AI.

The Samaritans – Saira (1989, UK) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2023-10-30 | A woman stands alone against a dimly-lit grey wall. By the troubled look she has on her face, she quite clearly has something on her mind. She tries confiding in us, however, her cries of anguish are replaced by a harsh, loud, and inaudible screeching sound. As the screeching sound gets louder, she becomes more and more fraught, as the desperation to be understood grows between her as well as us. Before the end, the camera slowly pans away from her to reveal her standing by herself in the corner of a room, revealing text that reads 'Samaritans', and then the word 'Understand' replacing it. The loud inaudible screeching was thus a metaphor for a person desperately trying to say what's on their mind, but either not being listened to or being understood properly – and so they may as well have not been speaking any comprehensible language at all.

Director: Michael Seresin
Production Company: BFCS
Art Director: Fergus Fleming
Copywriter: Simon Dicketts
Account Director: Mark Cunningham
Agency TV Producer: Martha Greene
Music: Arthur Louis
Client Supervisor: Simon Armson
Cameraman: Michael Seresin
Lighting: Michael Seresin
Post House: The Moving Picture Company
Film Processing Lab: Technicolor
Music Studio: Nova Studios
Film Opticals: Mike Uden

Winner of a Bronze British Arrows Award 1990. Rated 15.

Upscaled into 4K using AI software.

Montana Meth Project – Everything Else (2006, USA) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2023-09-12 | A naive teenage girl gets way more than she bargained for when she imprudently asks a bunch of addicts at a party whether she can try some meth.

Directed by Tony Kaye.

Upscaled into 4K using Topaz Video AI.
Original: vimeo.com/143079358

...AND DON'T FORGET YA METH FACE!!!

Montana Meth Project – Bathtub (2005, USA) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2023-09-12 | POV: it's 2005 and you need to tackle Montana's growing meth problem among teenagers and young people. What do you do? You hire Tony Kaye (of "Kathy Can't Sleep" and "Lenny" notoriety) to direct the first wave of what would become one of the most successful, effective, and infamous anti-drug campaigns of a generation.

And the premise is a simple one: a young girl in just her bathrobe jumps in the shower to get ready for what's presumably a night out with friends. To her disgust, she sees dirty and bloodied water flow around her feet. She looks behind her to find the source: a meth-addicted version of herself, covered in grime and abrasions, cowering at the other end of the bathtub. She screams in terror before her doppelganger pleads with her to not "do it" and ultimately end up like the addict she will otherwise become.

Credits
Agency: Venables Bell & Partners
Creative Director: Paul Venables
Art Director: Ray Andrade
Director: Tony Kaye
Creative Director: Greg Bell
Editor: Geoff Hounsell
Account Supervisor: Suzanne Reeves
Copywriter: Patrick James Robinson

Apologies for the slightly obnoxious interlacing on this one - I couldn't seem to completely get rid of it no matter what I tried.

Upscaled into 4K using Topaz Video AI.
Original: vimeo.com/396037516

COI | Safety on the Move – Could You Live With It? (1990s, UK) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2023-09-11 | Trigger warning: contains references to suicide.

Rare PIF from Safety on the Move, the same folks who brought you the likes of 'Dave', 'Kathy Can't Sleep', and 'Eyes'. This time though, it's not for their more notable "Drinking and driving wrecks lives" campaign, but for a more obscure "Drink driving. Could you live with it?" campaign.

Now, I'm not entirely sure when this was aired, whether it was a cinema or television campaign or the official title of the PIF. In fact, I can't seem to find anything on this particular campaign at all - just the name of the director.

We see a single shot of a solemn-looking man staring directly into the camera, with tears slowly filling his eyes as a judge passes sentence upon him. His face fills with more and more anguish as the ad progresses until the judge finally asks him whether he has any comments before he passes his sentence upon him. We then see the man's face completely drop, revealing that the man was in his prison cell preparing to hang himself. All we see then is the wire suspending his body swaying from side to side, before cutting to black with white text that reads, "Drink driving. Could you live with it?"

I really like this one. It kind of pays homage to 'Kathy Can't Sleep', only this time our sole focus is on the actual perpetrator, and we are emotionally hit with the stark realisation that drink-driving perpetrators could be any one of us if we made that wrong decision to drink drive. That and the sinister sound of the swinging wire at the end gives it that eerie touch. You could also interpret the judge in this PIF to be some kind of godly figure, and the passing of his sentence is God handing down his eternal punishment for killing another. All in all, it's a very poignant and powerful ad, and it's a shame there wasn't much light shed on this one as there probably should have been.

I give this one a solid 7/10.

Directed by Tim James Brown.
Original: vimeo.com/843260780

Upscaled in 4K using Topaz Video AI.

WSIB – Top Chef (2007, Canada) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2023-09-07 | It's my day off, I've really missed PSAs, and it's too bastard hot in the UK right now to do anything else... so I thought why not load up my iMac that's been stored under my bed for months and whack out the ol' upscaler?

This is a test more than anything else - I noticed a new model in Topaz after updating it that's apparently good for enhancing faces (that and I wanted to let everyone know that this channel is not dormant and I'm not, you know, dead).

And the results? I mean, I think it's done a pretty good job... at least compared to the original anyway, which wasn't the best quality and a very interlaced one at that. Seriously though, even after all these years there still doesn't seem to be original/high-quality copies of these WSIB PSAs anywhere at all.

Has this lit the fire in my belly to be active with my YouTube channels again? Well... I cannot say anything for certain. Since I last uploaded to this channel, I met the love of my life (10 months strong, woo woo!), got a new full-time job, and sadly lost a very close friend unexpectedly. In other words, I just haven't found the time to be as active on here as I used to. I know I probably don't need to explain myself, but just thought I'd post a little update on why I've been so absent.

I hope you are all well.

Oh, and I guess I should actually say something about this PSA. But come on, who hasn't seen this one? The blood-curdling screams of an aspiring head chef after spilling an entire vat of blistering hot grease all over herself still haunt me to this day.

10/10 campaign, WSIB.

Upscaled in 4K using Topaz Video AI.
Original for comparison: vimeo.com/30707459

DOE – Shame (2001, UK) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2022-10-31 | Hilariously melodramatic and over-the-top drink driving PIF from Northern Ireland's Department of Environment (DOE, now DAERA), and a PIF that would consequentially make them known for their distinctive "rolled over cars flattening people" approach to their public safety campaigns. In fact, they loved this approach so much that they actually rebooted this campaign many years later in 2014 under their "Shame on You" campaign (this time for speeding rather than drink driving), where their exact same approach of flattening kids with rolled-over cars unsurprisingly resulted in large internet ridicule, and of course the many memes that came from it.

Shame on _*you*_ for producing shite like this, DOE. No wonder the agency that was responsible for these campaigns liquidated. Not to relish in another's failures, but it's hardly surprising after how much controversy (and ridicule) their PIFs attracted...

Credits
Advertising Agency: LyleBailie International
Creative Director: David Lyle & Julie Bailie
Copywriter: David Lyle & Julie Bailie
Art Director: David Lyle & Julie Bailie
Agency Producer: Sonia Laughlin
Account Supervisor: John Brolly
Director: Syd Macartney
Producer: Ruck Strauss
Lighting Cameraman: Jake Polonski
Music: 'Man of the World' by Fleetwood Mac

Upscaled into 4K using AI software.
Originally upscaled on my main channel last year, but it has now been re-upscaled using a more robust AI model.

And yes, for the billionth time, Northern Ireland is part of the UK...

Kleenex – Baby Oni (1985, Japan) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2022-10-31 | Two infamous commercials for Kleenex tissues from mid-80s Japan that still spawn a lot of urban legends relating to it even decades after it was made. Such legends relate to the cast and crew of this commercial mysteriously dying shortly after filming, where the fundamentals of such legends are probably rooted in the baby's depiction of an oni – an evil demon or spirit in Japanese folklore that manifests itself in a murderous or cannibalistic nature.

It's no wonder why so many people on the internet repeatedly label this commercial as "cursed", though I cannot help but find that similar myths have been made about certain "creepy" or "unsettling" aspects of Japanese media time and time again over the years (or indeed any obscure media in general). And of course, the internet cannot ever seem to help itself from indulging in such tales of a creepy, superstitious nature, so take from that what you will.

Folklore aside, the rich, sweet voice of a woman singing a soothing acapella version of Edward Barton's 'It's a Fine Day', played over unsettling shots of a woman dressed in white, sitting beside a toddler painted red with green hair and a horn resembling an ogre, playing with floating tissues that seem to spectrally swirl and dance around on their own, certainly creates a sense of uneasiness in even the least superstitious of minds.

Happy Halloween!

Upscaled into 4K using AI software.
Original: youtube.com/watch?v=oo9S83QTIkg

League Against Cruel Sports – Silent Enemy (2016, UK) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2022-10-11 | Happy Spooktober.

Here's a spooky PIF for you all courtesy of the League Against Cruel Sports, the same organisation that brought us the likes of that infamous fox-hunting PIF titled 'Game' – you know, the one with that Jeremy Clarkson lookalike dressed as a fox hunter (though it may as well have been him) rocking maniacally back and forth on a rocking horse while 'O Fortuna' plays over it?

This one, however, is about snares. It starts out with a jogger taking a run through a forest, as the narrator describes the bodily sensations we would otherwise associate with heavy exercise. He then, however, is jolted backward when a thin piece of wire wraps around his throat, causing him to fall to the ground as he desperately tries to pull its tight forceful grip from his neck as it slowly crushes his windpipe. We then realise the narrator wasn't describing sensations related to heavy exercise at all, but what an animal experiences when it becomes caught in a snare, much like we are currently witnessing with this unfortunate bloke, which are still very much legal to use in the UK.

Credits
Director: Paul Murphy
Production: Nick Rowley at Grain Media
Writer: Paul Murphy & Helen Sykes
Editor: Paul Murphy
DoP: James Blann
Sound Design: Chris Turner at Jungle Studios
Colour: Jack Mcginity at Time Based Arts
1st Assistant Director: Rob Payne
Camera Hire: Arri Rental
Camera Assistant: Matt Deeley
Steady Cam: Richard Cornelius
Music: Tony Anderson*
Stunt Co-Ordinator: Kevin Matthews at Specialist Wire Rigs
Actor: Shaun Mckee
Voice Over: Peter Egan
Stills Photography: Chris Cooke
Sound: David Pepperell

*I replaced the original audio with a version without the music. You can check out the original version with music below.

Upscaled into 4K using AI software.
Original: vimeo.com/166620790

Concerned Childrens Advertisers – House Hippo (1999, Canada) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2022-10-10 | An iconic PSA that became a token in most Canadian households at the end of the 90s (and subsequently in the UK a few years later under its 'Media Smart' campaign), reminding kids that not everything they see on TV is real, no matter how realistic things may seem, and to think about what they are watching on TV.

Luckily for some back then, the realisation that house hippos weren't real developed their critical thinking skills to make them more skeptical about everything they see on TV. In today's age of the internet, however, house hippos have ultimately been replaced with the likes of microchips in vaccines that track you, a flat Earth, shapeshifting unworldly demons amongst the elite, billionaires eating the flesh of newborn babies to keep them young, and vapors in airplane trails containing mind-altering chemicals that leave us all mindlessly following whatever the government tells us to do...

I guess some people didn't stop believing in house hippos.

Credits
Director: Tim Hamilton
Creative Agency: Corktown Seed Co.
Agency Producer: Carlo D'Ercole
Writer: Siobhan Dempsey (and others)

Upscaled into 4K using AI software.
Original: vimeo.com/74838939
See the UK version here: youtube.com/watch?v=yervWcntDUg

Concerned Childrens Advertisers – Dont Put It In Your Mouth (1992, Canada) [4K 60FPS Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2022-10-09 | All together, kids.

Credits
Concept Development: Pete Pallett
Copywriting: Pete Pallett
Lyric Writing: Pete Pallett in collaboration with Murray Price of KOKO Productions
Art Director: Jan Hall
Creative Director: Alan Russell
Agency: DDB Vancouver
Audio Production: KOKO Productions
Producer: Murray Price
Video Production: Cactus Productions, Vancouver
Puppet Characters: Fran Dowie

Read more about the development of this iconic PSA here: petepallett.com/concerned-childrens-advertisers

Upscaled into 4K 60FPS using AI software.
Original can be found as above.

Motion Picture Association – You Wouldnt Steal a Car (2004, International) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2022-10-03 | You wouldn't download a car... or would you?

A collaboration between the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore in 2004 resulted in one of the most memorable and parodied anti-piracy PSAs of all time, and even to this day is the most "memeable" (not yet a proper word, but no doubt it will be one day soon) piece of film to ever grace the internet.

Having originally been shown in cinemas and subsequently put on DVDs around the world as an unskippable PSA, were they really surprised after equating a petty crime such as piracy with the likes of stealing a car or nicking handbags that their whole campaign fell on a lot of deaf ears?

And has anyone actually ever been to prison for pirating films, TV shows, software, or music? You can hardly say you blame anyone who pirates, especially in today's age with overpriced streaming services that treat customers like numbers, hiking up the prices despite the quality of their content nosediving, whilst penalising users that dare to share their password with any family member outside their household or a friend. Not to mention the way copyright holders like to flag a 5 second clip of one of their songs playing faintly in the background of a 2 minute video and monetise the whole thing, and how those companies abuse copyright systems such as the one on YouTube to make as much money as they can. Who in the hell is going to take a 5 second portion of a song playing in the background of a YouTube video or one that's poor quality or has talking over it, rip it to a CD, and flog it for £1.69 at their local car boot sale?

It's not the consumer's fault all these companies are money-hungry, and no amount of fines or threats of prison sentences isn't going to stop someone from simply doing a quick Google search, clicking on a dodgy website, and using a BitTorrent to download cracked software for free that they would otherwise be paying a £50 a month subscription plan for software that is notorious for crashing, freezing, and quitting unexpectedly every 5 seconds.

Not that I am condoning that or anything...

Original: youtube.com/watch?v=Hm1uF3NgS94

American Cancer Society – Smoking Fetus (1985, USA) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2022-09-18 | An anti-smoking PSA from the American Cancer Society uses a disturbing visual metaphor of an unborn baby smoking a cigarette while still in the womb, making the point that if a woman smokes a cigarette whilst pregnant, there's no difference between giving a cigarette to the foetus itself.

This one attracted quite a lot of controversy at the time, so much so that CBS and NBC refused to air it, feeling that the spot was "far too graphic", "shocking", and "potentially offensive to viewers". After it was featured on the news, however, it subsequently got a lot of requests from other channels asking to broadcast it.

Read more about it here: latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-01-19-ca-8278-story.html
To read more about the making of this PSA: ascmag.com/articles/american-cancer-societys-smoking-fetus
And this page also has a video showing a news feature on it talking about the controversy and the making-of: thefincheranalyst.com/commercials/1985-american-cancer-society-smoking-fetus-psa

Credits
Director: David Fincher
Production Company: Joseph Vogt Productions
Producer: Joseph Vogt
Director of Photography: Michael Owens
Designer: Chris Green
Studio: Midland Productions, Richmond, CA
Studio General Manager / Digital Motion Control Camera System Designer: Dr. Steven L. Horowitz, PhD
Camera Operator / Motion Control Camera System Programmer: Byrne Pedit
Puppet Design: Kirk Thatcher, Richard Snell
Puppet Sculptor: Tony McVey
Chief Puppeteer: Bob Cooper
Music: Ren Klyce
Voice: Jan Thomas

Upscaled into 4K using AI software.
Original (before I tweaked the brightness and colour): vimeo.com/221625967

nomore.org – Listen (2015, USA) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2022-09-17 | Subtitles/CCs available. We hear a real 911 call where a woman has rung the emergency operators to order a pizza. As we hear the call, we see shots inside of an ordinary suburban home, filled with everything you might expect. We eventually see the house littered with various objects thrown and strewn around as we begin to realise that something is not quite right here. Still puzzled, the operator reminds the woman that she's rang a 911 operator and not a pizza place. The shots of a hole punched in a wall, a picture missing from a wall of family photographs, and then that missing picture laying smashed against the wall of a kitchen indicate it's far from being a safe and warm familial environment. It's quite clear that the woman was not mistaken by calling 911 – she's making a covert call for help by disguising it as a pizza order as the hostile perpetrator is still in the same room as her. Fortunately, the operator swiftly catches on and indicates to her that a police officer is on their way before she abruptly hangs up to not arouse suspicion.

A truly chilling and effective domestic violence PSA, which was first shown during the NFL Super Bowl XLIX, and was actually the first ever Super Bowl commercial to address domestic violence and sexual assault.

Credits
Agency: Grey, New York
Executive Creative Director: Derek Barnes
Creative Director: Lance Parrish
Executive Creative Director: Eve Kornblum
Creative Director: Stephen Nathans
Production Agency: Chelsea Pictures
Director: Nadav Kander

Upscaled into 4K using AI software.
Original: vimeo.com/118060774

Born Free – The Bitter Bond (2019, UK) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2022-09-09 | Set to the song 'Born Free' performed by Matt Monro, a lion cub is welcomed into the world by his loving keeper, with who he develops a strong and affectionate bond. As he grows, we see snapshots taken of him standing proudly among tourists before he is released into the wild as a fully grown lion king. When he's eventually reunited with his keeper, however, we realise that he wasn't truly "born free" after all, ending tragically with the ultimate heart-rending betrayal.

Credits
Production Company: Blinkink
Animation & Visual Effects: Zombie Studio
Directors: Daniel Salles, Paulo Garcia
Creative: James Hodson, Jason Keet
Executive Creative Director: Paul Jordan
Creative Directors: Steve Hawthorne, Katy Hopkins
Executive Producers: Stefanie Dias, Natália Gouvea, Bart Yates
Agency Film Producer: Stefanie Forbes
CG Lead: Yohann da Geb
3D Modeller: Mauricio Sampaio
Animation Directors: Bruna Monteiro, Bruno Monteiro
Animation Supervisors: Marcio Lovato, Antonela Castro, Leticia Harumi
Animators: Bruna Berford, Bruno Santos, Christian Weckl, Conrado Testa, Francisco Catão, Hannry Pschera, Jonathan Edward, Leonardo Felix, Michel Denis Da Silva, Rodrigo Dutra
Cinematographer: Lucas Barreto
Advertising Agency: Engine Group
Account Manager: Tom Butler
Colourist: Marcio Pasqualino
Sound Engineer & Mixer: Ben Leeves
TV Producer: Stefanie Forbes
Head of Marketing & Communications: Matt Smithers
Influencer Manager: Gemma Glover
Business Director: Eve Bui
Strategy Director: Laura Sammarco
Social Media Strategist: Jack Cartwright
Model Maker: Mauricio Sampaio
Music: 'Born Free' performed by Matt Monro

Winner of a Yellow D&AD Pencil for Animation (Traditional), Graphite Pencil for Art Direction (Film), and Graphite Pencil for Animation (Characters & Creatures).

Upscaled into 4K using AI software.
Original: vimeo.com/362325129

Bosch – Stop the Roadkill (2015, USA) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2022-09-02 | Lyrics/CC available. What's the best way to sell your windshield wipers while also promoting safer driving to prevent animals from ending up as roadkill? Use an all-singing, all-dancing cast of zombie roadkill puppets complete with rotten flesh and missing limbs to sing a cautionary number on safer driving, of course!

In a spoof of Michael Jackson's 'Thriller', we see different animals that often end up as roadkill (a squirrel, deer, fox, rabbit, and a skunk) all come back to life to sing a comical yet cautionary song about their unfortunate roadside demise, urging drivers to upgrade to Bosch windshield wipers so drivers will see the road clearer and prevent such roadkill in the future.

That's certainly one way to get drivers to buy your products.

Credits
Director: Peter Sluszka @ Hornet Inc.
Executive Producer: Hana Shimizu
Head of Production: Greg Bedard
Producer: Marty Geren
Director of Photography: Zak Mulligan
Storyboard Artist: David Zung
Editor: Anita Chao
Designers: Sean Lattrell, Marco Furtado, Robert Macenzie, Natlie Labarre
Lead Compositor: Peter Fink
Compositors: John Harrison, Ted Wiggin, Noah Sterling, Xiao Xiao Tang, Hilary Barton, Anna Hieronymous
1st Assistant Director: Jim Muscarella
Line Producer: Joel Kretschman
Motion Control Operator: Anthony Jacques
Gaffer: Michael Yetter
Choreographer: Tricia Brouk
Production Coordinator: Ethan Christy
1st AC: Nathan Spengler
Key Grip: Justin Hullinger
Art Director: Timothy McDonald
Best Boy: Chris Clarke
Puppeteers: Steven Widerman, Billy Barkhurst, Tyler Bunch, Lara MacLean, Ronald Binion, Paul McGinnis
Motion Control Assistant: Julio Lopez
3rd Electric: Lori Dinsmore
2nd Grip: Balz Bielman
Lead Puppet Fabricator: Patrick Zung
Seamstress: Nora Rogers
Art Department: Zung Studios, Timothy McDonald, Peter Erickson
Intern: Anthony Galante, Danielle Edwards
Agency: Grey
Agency Executive Creative Director: Ari Halper
Agency Executive Creative Director: Stephen Krauss
Agency Creative Director: Marco Pupo
Agency Creative Director: Joao Coutinho
Agency Writer: Pieter Melief
Agency Art Director: Andrew Barrett
Agency Producer: Sophia Pellicoro
Agency Partner: Rick Cusato
Agency Account Executive: Danielle Fields
Agency Business Manager: Lisa Johnson
Agency SVP Assoc. Director of Film Production: James Mcpherson
Music Producer: David Steinberg

Upscaled into 4K using AI software.
Original: vimeo.com/149880084

For a case study/behind-the-scenes video: vimeo.com/475847452

DfT | Think! – Moment of Doubt (2007, UK) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2022-09-01 | A barman (played by Adrian Schiller) embodies the personalities of seven different characters associated with a soon-to-be drink driver after contemplating ordering a drink at a bar while driving. He channels small snippets of conversations and the vented woes and frustrations heard post-conviction from the police officer who arrested him, the driver's lawyer, his boss, a car salesman, his father, his mother, and finally his partner. The barman then 'snaps' back to reality, positing the final question, "What's it gonna be?" before staring solemnly into the camera, leaving us pondering whether the driver went through with his order.

This PIF alone has managed to reserve status in the PSA and PIF community as being one of Think!'s all-time worst campaigns, and some even consider it to be the worst PIF of all time. Can't say I've ever fully shared that opinion, though. Yes, of course, it's rubbish – but it certainly isn't the worst Think! PIF I've seen. It certainly beats a lot of their newer campaigns that try way too hard to appeal to the younger crowds with their "How do you do, fellow kids?" approach. And it's way better than the pathetic excuse of a PIF they did only a few years ago with the Pink Kittens. And there was that really crap one they did with the mime as well, and the lady faceplanting a table in a pub after getting run over by an imaginary car.

It's still very corny, though. Was there a need to be so GCSE drama piece slash stage-school acting audition with its execution? I think it probably could have worked a lot better if instead of using Schiller's voice, they had different actors' voices playing the different characters synced over it instead. I get they probably didn't do that for continuity reasons to make it all seem part and parcel of him ordering a drink from the barman, but still, the execution wasn't that great. And the poor execution isn't helped by the iMovie-style vignette they added to the in-between shots of the driver looking bewildered.

Also, what if the driver wasn't actually going to order anything alcoholic? What if he simply wanted some tap water or needed to use the loo? I mean, he could have ordered an orange juice and a packet of pork scratchings, for all we know. But no, he got guilt-tripped into even bothering by Adrian Schiller instead. If I was that bloke, I'd never want to leave the house or bother interacting with another human again. But I already do that.

Credits
Director: John Hardwick
Copywriters: Richard Brim & Tony Malcolm
Art Directors: Daniel Fisher & Guy Moore
Creative Directors: Tony Malcolm & Guy Moore
Executive Creative Director: Jim Thornton
Producer: Laura Kanerick
Set Designer: Ashling Johnson
Production Company: HLA
Advertising Agency: Leo Burnett London
Agency Producer: Emmalou Johnson
Editor: Owen Oppenheimer
Lighting Cameraperson: Nanu Segal
Sound Designer: Parv Thind
Sound Design: Wave
Planners: Nick Docherty & Damian McKeown
Account Handler: Richard Bookey
Marketing Manager: Nikki Edwards
Publicity Team Head: Nikki Edwards

Upscaled into 4K using AI software.
Original: vimeo.com/163259631

Network Rail – Nathan (2013, UK) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2022-08-24 | Subtitles available. Based on a true story, this shocking and graphic film from Network Rail tells us the story of Nathan, a teenager who got a little bit too incautious throwing a discarded electrical wire over the side of a railway bridge. The inevitable happened when the wire came into contact with the overhead wires below, but despite suffering serious burns, he survived... his cousin who had partaken in it, however, wasn't so lucky.

Winner of IVCA Awards 2013 for best health & safety film.

Director: James Lawes
Agency: Pretzel Films
VFX: Golden Square

Upscaled into 4K using AI software.
Original: vimeo.com/47989464

Barnardos – Break the Cycle (2008, UK) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2022-08-23 | Powerful and justly distressing PIF from children's charity Barnardo's, showing how a child's cycle of despair, corruption, destitution, and poverty repeats indefinitely until someone puts a stop to it.

I remember seeing this one on TV very vividly, and in fact, I think I watched its first ever broadcast. Bizarrely, it ended up garnering quite a lot of controversy and complaints at the time, too; nearly 500 complaints, in fact. Most of them, go figure, complained because it was shown during ad breaks of the 'reality show' I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, and viewers complained it was "too distressing" – but apparently watching celebs eat kangaroo anuses wasn't. Imagine complaining about the real struggles young people have to face every day and seeing them as "too distressing" and teenagers shouldn't be watching it, whilst sitting like a lump on a couch in your lovely and warm home watching shite television programmes such as I'm A Celeb without a care in the world, other than your favourite less than Z-list celebrity being evicted from an Australian jungle they got paid hundreds of thousands of pounds to be there and cohabit with other stuck up egocentric wet farts for a few weeks? Not to mention a show being hosted by the two most annoying and insufferable C-U-Next-Tuesdays on the planet.

Isn't the fact that it is distressing and being aired when young people would be watching the entire point, though? Aren't young people meant to be shown that no matter the struggles they are going through in life, there's always going to be help and support out there for them, and there are organisations out there that can guide them to live happier and healthier lives, free from corruption, disadvantage, and violence? But no, have your teenager watch celebs eating marsupial testicles instead.

The mind boggles why anyone would go out of their way to complain about this, especially something with a powerful and relevant message – let alone nearly 500 people. I'm glad the Advertising Standard Authority didn't decide to uphold the complaints, though.

Credits
Director: Jeff Labbe
Production Company: Sonny
Director of Photography: Simon Richards
Agency: BBH London

Winner of a number of awards, including a Cannes Gold Lion, Gold ANDY, Gold Creative Circle, Silver BTAA, Bronze BTAA, Silver D&AD Pencil, Silver ONE Show NY, and a BTAA Diploma.

Upscaled into 4K using AI software.
Original: vimeo.com/192705121

Liikenneturva / Finnish Road Safety Council – Jump (2011, Finland) [4K Upscale]

HelloImAPizzaToo 2022-08-23 | A man stands on a diving platform high above an empty pool. Looking peaceful, he slowly raises his arms before jumping off backwards over the edge. As he gracefully falls into the empty pool below, a speedometer appears on screen, showing the speed in which he is falling. The greater the fall, the higher the speed becomes – until it reaches 60 kph right before he makes contact with the floor of the empty pool, before cutting to black. The text "Remember seat belts" appears at the very end, along with the Liikenneturva logo.

I quite like this one. It's an odd mix of calm and peaceful with the impactful message (literally) and the foreboding atmosphere. Kind of reminds me of the "Impacts" one from the Danish Road Safety Council from 1999, showing the different impacts one can sustain that are similar to crashing at certain speeds. That one was an anti-speeding PSA though, and you wouldn't immediately think this one was for seatbelts.

All in all, a nice little decent PSA!

Credits
Agency: Mjölk
Director: Jalmari Helander
Producer: Marko Antila
Production Company: MJÖLK
Editor: Iikka Hesse
Producer: Nina Erwes, Yrjö Nieminen
Art Director: Elina Nurmi
Copywriter: V-A Aalto

Requested by Love The PIF.

Upscaled into 4K using AI software.
Original: vimeo.com/125550558