Personal Growth — August 13, 2011

Gimmick Gets Risk Message to Sun-Lovers

A skin cancer group and advertising firm have used a spoof tanning product to trick 14,000 sun-worshippers into learning about the life-threatening effects of excess sun exposure.

bigthinkeditor

What’s the Latest Development?

Skin cancer charity Skcin and advertising firm McCann Worldgroup successfully used a spoof tanning product to trick 14,000 sun-worshippers into learning about the life-threatening effects of binge tanning. Designed to raise awareness of skin cancer, a largely preventable disease, they promoted a product claiming to ‘triple the power of the sun’ for the ultimate tan, thereby attracting thousands of sun worshipers who tried to buy it.

What’s the Big Idea?

When potential customers logged on to purchase their fast-tanning product they were instead sent emails about skin cancer, which has doubled in the past decade and now kills seven people a day in the U.K. Simon Hill of McCann said: “It was designed to engage those most at risk and those most difficult to talk to via conventional advertising.”

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