Quick, avert your eyes, automatonophobes!

Even if you don’t suffer from an irrational fear of wax figures, mannequins and ventriloquist dummies, you might get the willies after watching a new commercial for Colorado-based FirstBank.

The ad, called Bargain Dummy, sends a creepy wooden doll home with a clueless yard sale shopper. Why was it free? Oh, he’ll find out.

The 30-second spot, running on national broadcast and cable TV and across digital platforms like Hulu, ESPN, Yahoo and Pandora, is an example of spine-tingling marketing for brands as diverse as radial tires, ice cream shops, cell phones and house paint.

See also: 3 New Types of Digital Advertising Agencies

So-called scarevertising isn’t exactly new. Hollywood movie studios and public service announcements pioneered the hair-raising advertising and promotional trend many years ago. But more and more companies are using the approach now to shill products and services that have nothing to do with horror flicks or texting while driving.

TDA_Boulder, the agency behind Bargain Dummy, wanted to break out of the mundane, talking head approach usually associated with bank ads. Instead, executives aimed for a thought-provoking way to push free checking, given that consumers are often skeptical about free stuff. The ad, starring a traumatized dummy owner and her lifelike castoff, plays with that idea.

“We’re acknowledging that free isn’t always such a good thing, especially if you’re bringing a demonic doll back to your house,” said Jeremy Seibold, creative director at TDA_Boulder. “We went for a subtle tone – as subtle as you can be with a terrifying dummy.”

In a jam-packed ad environment, it’s no wonder that brands and their ad agencies are using scare tactics, said Peter Sealey, marketing consultant and former head of marketing at Coca-Cola and Columbia Pictures.

“Job 1 of advertising is to get consumers to focus their eyeballs on that 30-second spot or that stunt,” Sealey said. “The initial grab for attention is so damn important.”

But savvy consumers, bombarded with marketing and armed with DVRs and other ad-skipping devices, won’t be impressed if the commercial is just weird for its own sake, he said. It needs a tangible connection to the brand and should cement the company’s message.

Seibold agreed, saying, “If the scary ad isn’t tied to the product attributes -– if it doesn’t come from something genuine –- it’s a misfire. Consumers might watch, but they won’t remember the message or the brand.”

It’s tough to say, then, if a genre movie-style ad for the Japanese tire company AutoWay actually moved the needle, business-wise, when it launched late last year. But the spot, which came equipped with a stern pre-roll health warning, has racked up more than 8.6 million views on YouTube. It’s nightmare inducing – -you’ve been warned, readers – but what did it really accomplish for its product?

The jury is still out on McDonald’s new mascot, Happy, an anthropomorphic red box with a face and giant teeth introduced to the U.S. in May. The social media chatter alone has brought the burger giant a load of buzzworthy free publicity, though most commenters called the character “terrifying.” But young kids, the Happy Meal target audience, haven’t seemed nearly as freaked out by it (despite a Photoshop contest that substituted Happy for the villains in iconic horror movie posters).

Earlier this spring, a hidden-camera prank for fright flick Lord of Tears scared the crap out of some unsuspecting adventurers in an abandoned Scottish hospital. Most of the looky-loos came unglued when they ran across a creepy costumed character named Owlman, planted there by ad execs. The video follows a number of stunts for films like Devil’s Due and Carrie that have left members of the public twitchy and disturbed, while millions of people watched their reactions on YouTube. None of those films turned into mainstream blockbusters.

Some brands plant their flag in horror themes, whether or not there seems to be a direct parallel with their products. Zombies and evil spirits have been de rigueur for a British cellphone company called Phones 4U, and complaints from TV viewers have meant the commercials air only late at night when children aren’t likely to see them.

An Australian ad for Dulux, featuring a levitating creature, kicked up controversy that probably helped spread the message that the interior house paint could repel ghosts along with stains.

Sony PlayStation frightened anyone who watched with its Baby Doll ad, featuring a laughing, crying, jabbering plastic toy, and Little Baby’s Ice Cream shop in Philadelphia covered a wide-eyed model in ice cream for the most freakish, unappetizing promotion imaginable.

Easier to grasp is the #PubLooShocker video from Leo Burnett for England’s Department for Transport campaign against drunk driving. The 52-second video, filmed in a British bar’s restroom, graphically recreated the impact of a car crash by sending a dummy smashing through the mirror. Nightclub patrons, played by actors who didn’t know what was coming, were standing at the sink when the mannequin came sailing toward them through shattered glass. The THINK campaign spot has snagged more than 11 million YouTube views since last summer, with some people no doubt moved by its horrifying images. Whether they were moved enough to buy some PlayStations remains to be seen.

While there’s some upside in generating a potential viral video or frightening the masses into talking about your ad, the tactic could backfire, Sealey said. “It can’t be ghoulish for its own sake,” he said. “People will sniff it out if it’s just gratuitous, and then you’ve dinged your brand. If you don't do it well, you probably shouldn't do it at all.”