This Japanese Ad Is So Scary It Begins With A Health Warning

A Japanese tire company has released a horror-film inspired video that's gone viral in part because it contains a genuine shock but also because it comes with a health warning. (The health warning can't be that serious because it doesn't appear long enough for people to actually read it carefully.)

In the video, a driver and his passenger drive down a dark road, commenting on the snow. And then ...

The theme of the campaign, from BBDO J West, is that Autoway Tires' products are so reliable, the only thing scary about a snow storm will be things like the sudden appearance of an evil dead girl.

The commercial recalls the cheap scares found in videos from YouTube's early days, in which a ghoulish image accompanied by a startling noise would suddenly interrupt benign footage.

It's an old trick made interesting by the styling of Japanese horror films (think "The Ring," which is a remake of a Japanese film).

People seem to love it. By Friday afternoon, the ad had over four million views on YouTube with comments written in a variety of languages.