Heads up! Scary ads taking over YouTube

August 15, 2018

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Film trailers and previews are all meant to give potential viewers a little sampling of what a movie is supposed to offer.For example, action film trailers = explosions and daredevil stunts. Comedies = short clips of zany antics. Romance films = syrupy sections filled with cheesy one-liners. And of course, horror films = a few minutes of pure terror. Indeed, it’s all meant to lure fans to troop out to the theaters and experience the full product.But did this particular trailer go too far?Read on and see why this controversial viral preview was pulled by YouTube for its shocking content.

The Nun “volume” video

A new 6-second trailer for the upcoming horror movie “The Nun” was pulled by YouTube this week for being “too scary, ” a sentiment shared by many netizens.If you haven’t seen the clip yet, here’s how it goes. It starts with what appears to be your gadget’s volume level being turned all the way down. Then out of nowhere, an extreme close-up of the titular nun cuts through, letting out a demonic scream.I hope you didn’t fall for the initial volume slider prank because the trailer’s jumpscare ending is extremely loud and obnoxious!You’ve probably seen tons of these jumpscare videos before since it’s not exactly a new thing. However, this trailer is sometimes used as a pre-roll ad on other YouTube videos so tons of unsuspecting people were victimized by the prank.And naturally, the trailer went viral. And because Twitter is a hotbed for complaints, the rants just kept coming and YouTube noticed.https://twitter.com/bbydvas/status/1028690821715910656https://twitter.com/emy_mooree/status/1028184000764862469

YouTube says it violates its “shocking content” policy

In response to the complaints, YouTube decided to pull the ad down for violating its “shocking content” policy.According to YouTube’s policy on “Violent and shocking content in ads,” they consider these as shocking factors in video ads:

• Whether the video shows scenes containing violent and/or graphic imagery that can be shocking or disturbing to viewers (e.g, Showing blood splatter, sexual fluids, human or animal waste)
• Whether the video shows the graphic aftermath of a violent act
• Whether the shots of violence or gore are the focal point of the scene in the video
• Whether the violence contained in the video is realistic when posted in a dramatic context
• Other factors include the camera angle and focus, and the clarity of the images in the video

The jump scaring Nun clip most likely falls under the first category, hence the removal.https://twitter.com/TeamYouTube/status/1029185298524123137If you want to experience the ad in its entirety, watch it (at your own risk) here.Now that the movie caught your attention, be forewarned, “The Nun” will be out in theaters on September 7. If you want a full-length movie’s worth of scares, you might want to check it out.What do you think? Was “The Nun” volume trailer too much? Or did it accomplish what it was set to do? Drop us a comment!