public service announcement

The shot in the public service announcement was unforgettable: an alien-like being hooked up to wires, tubes and monitors with audible whirs of machinery under a glaringly bright light. It's similar to the scene in 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,' after E.T. was captured by government scientists.

Only this "alien" was all too real. This alien was a premature baby, weighing no more than a pound and a half, on life support. The commercial was for the March of Dimes, and the message the spot conveyed was, "This is what happens when you drink and do drugs during your pregnancy."

I was overcome with tears, which quickly turned to sobbing. I had delivered my son 16 weeks prematurely just a few days earlier -- he weighed only one pound, three ounces. He was still in intensive care and I had just been sent home from the hospital without my baby. I connected with that PSA, but at the same time I was extremely offended. That is what had happened to my baby, and I had not done drugs or drunk alcohol during my pregnancy.

A beautiful woman stands up, mystical lights have caught her attention. She follows them up a flight of stairs and embraces their allure. A perfume-style bottle appears and the woman is delighted ... until she sees the text on the bottle: cervical cancer.

This commercial caught our attention -- and that of the millions of Academy Awards viewers -- and is one of the most shocking public service announcements we've seen in a while.

The spot for GlaxoSmithKline's Help Prevent Cervical Cancer campaign is just one of many public service announcements that really caught our attention.

Check out our spotlight on other memorable PSAs after the jump.