The £4m "Know Your Limits" promotion is designed to show young adults the possibly tragic consequences of excess drinking.
Ministers admitted that drinking too much has become "almost a badge of honour" for many young people.
It also emerged that a scheme to provide clearer information about alcohol content on drinks packaging and at the point of sale is due to be launched next year.
Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker said: "The
campaign dramatises the consequences of drinking irresponsibly by showing that it makes you feel invincible when you are actually more vulnerable."
A TV commercial premiering on Monday depicts a masked man in a super-hero costume scaling high scaffolding to rescue balloons lost by a hen party.
Only when he slips and falls is the character revealed to be an ordinary man charged with "Dutch courage" by alcohol, as he lies twitching, twisted and paralysed on the ground.
Print adverts show a woman lying naked on a roadside after being raped while intoxicated, while another depicts a man beaten senseless by a gang, with the tag-line "Your Night Out Has Just Ended..."
Public Health Minister Caroline Flint said: "Throwing up, embarrassing yourself or getting hurt is almost a badge of honour among some young people.
"We feel they will recognise themselves in these advertisements and possibly recognise things that have happened to their friends as a result of drinking."
Department of Health officials said negotiations were under way with brewers to introduce new labelling to make the alcohol content of drinks easier to understand.
It is likely to feature a bottle logo and agreement is expected by the end of the year. The scheme could then be introduced next year.
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