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Resurfaced road safety ad is unlocking childhood memories of even more traumatising advert
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A resurfaced Think! children's road safety advert is triggering people's memories of another much darker video.
There's no doubt about it, Think! certainly produced some absolutely eye-catching adverts.
And they clearly worked as even years and years later, I remember those hedgehogs like it was yesterday.
However, it's the story of the boy who 'didn't stop, look and listen' which people are now being reminded of, which continues to haunt them to this day.
Instagram account The Archbishop of Banterbury has reposted one of Think!'s road safety awareness hedgehog adverts.
The advert is one from a series which first began in 1997 featuring 'the Hedgehog Family'.
Titled the King of the Road campaign (1998), the video may have a serious message of avoiding being hit by a vehicle and ending up severely injured or worse, but it maintains a pretty jovial tone throughout.
After all, what's scary about singing hedgehogs?
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As they amble along the street, the pair of animals sing: "Take care out on the street. Use you head and then your feet.
"Don't run out like a fool. Take your time and play it cool. If you don't stay alert, you could end up getting hurt. You better stop and think and you'll be king of the road."
Quite cute right? However, the hedgehog adverts were nothing on the Tales of the Road which followed.
And one Instagram user couldn't help but remind us of it, commenting: "This is the nice version, who remembers the kids that would end up with broken arms and legs?"
In 2008, the government road safety campaign group brought out a cautionary talk called The Boy Who Didn't Stop, Look and Listen.
Giving off a similar vibe to The Corpse Bride, the advert appears gothic in style and was reportedly inspired by Edwardian poet Hilaire Belloc.
A spokesperson for the Department for Transport told the Mail Online at the time: "We are taking a new approach to warning children about the dangers they can face on our roads, following new research that shows today’s six-to-11-year-olds need bolder and more direct communication about road safety."
And 'bolder' the advert certainly is.
The Boy Who Didn't Stop, Look and Listen centres around a boy on crutches.
The eerie narrator reads: "Before his leg was bent backwards, he loved to play football all day.
"But the boy didn't cross in a safe place, where he could see cars come his way. He then didn't stop, look and listen. A car hit him at quite a pace.
"And now he can't play football, because his leg broke in more than one place."
If that isn't enough to make sure you always look twice and check before you cross the road then I don't know what is.
As one YouTube user commented: "These were the reason I had nightmares as a kid."
