Our study is aimed to reveal the peculiarities of perception (preference, attitude, and retention in memory) of the TV public service advertising (based on the advertising campaigns against road traffic offenses and smoking). 60 respondents of different age, educational background, and profession took part in the study. The procedure of the study included two stages. At the first stage, the respondents filled in the inquiry form and their anxiety level was registered (C. Spielberger procedure). Then they watched 8 short videos, answered the questions after watching each video and marked their characteristics in semantic differential chart. 14 days later all the participants were individually interviewed regarding the videos retained in their memory and their attitude towards the considered problems. We obtained the following statistically significant results (correlation analysis, Scheffe’s criterion analysis of variance, Pearson’s chi-squared criterion). All participants of the study (whether or not the described problem was important for them) better perceived and retained in their memory with higher statistical significance the public service advertising that triggers strong emotions (both positive and negative) with logical arguments. Perception of the public service advertising has been determined by personal characteristics of the respondents (level of emotional stability, anxiety, etc.). Therefore, perception of the public service advertising is a combination of characteristics of the video itself and psychological peculiarities of the respondents.