No Talking Back When It Comes To Sun Safety
Pretty full on. But do you accept the message or fight it?
My initial reaction was that it would not be effective in changing the behaviors of the young people they are talking to. The commercial ignores the fundamentals of new communication: it talks at them not with them. The 1960’s radio announcer voice combined with a scare message would immediately put a barrier up and block the message. “You can’t tell me what to do!”
And I was partly correct as shown in the YouTube comments:
“I’ll tan if I tan.. I’m not going to tan on prupose at a tanning salon, but I’m not going to be all paranoid everytime I go outside either. Living your life in fear of EVERYTHING is no way to live.”
“I totally agree …. I am going to smoke , Drink and drive , do a little petrol sniffing and some speed. I am going to do all those things , and it will be all ok as long as im not afraid.”
But I was also partly wrong as shown in these comments:
“i’m scared to go outside now ! lol”
“Omg, I’m always swimming outdoors and got a massive tan. I’m so worried now!”
The website doesn’t help either. It arms the public with information but lacks interaction. So I’m still on the fence with this one. What do you think? Is it an ad where the message is so serious and the consequences so severe that there is no room for discussion? Or does the authoritative tone put a big barrier up between the message delivery and the intended audience?
No related posts.
I’m super white and I live right next to the beach. So many people don’t really bother listening to these types of messages. Fair enough if you’ve got the olive complexion. You’d have to be really unlucky to get a melanoma in that case. But… you still see people who really don’t have the skin to be out there getting burnt like that. It kind of makes me sick when I see them, all freckly and creased. I mean, okay, skin cancer is one thing, but aren’t you worried about looking like a leather boot? Me? I’m gonna ride this pasty thing out and once I hit 30, I’m gonna be a youthful looking motherfucker.
So yeh, maybe they’d be more successful if they showed that aspect of tanning, the fact that it makes you look fucking old! Who wants that?
I’m going to put my neck on the line here – does every piece of advertising/marketing need to facilitate a discussion between the brand and consumers?
I understand the importance of allowing consumers to provide feedback and have that 2 way communication but with this example especially, I don’t think the Gov’t is the right person to speak to – you should be off to see your GP if you have questions or concerns.
@Trey – whities UNITE! good point that the physical damage might have more effect than the health consequences. We’re a shallow bunch aren;t we?
@James- Nice, exactly what I’m grappling with here. In an age of ‘Dr Google’ do we want unqualified people givingadvice on cancer? Prob not. But we do want friends and family to provide encouragement to make sure those around them are sun safe and point them towards a real doc. I don’t think that’s the objective of this campaign though.
If you want to sell people the message that tans are not desirable, best not show a hot chick in a red bikini.
A school friend found out mid last year that she had a melanoma, gave birth to her first child 3 months later, turned 28 only 2 months later and then died a couple of weeks after that. She wasn’t pale nor a leather handbag replica, she didn’t go out and bake in the sun every weekend and, like most of us, she didn’t think it could ever happen to her.
Obviously a lot more work needs to be done to get the message across. It may alienate half the audience but if it resonates for a few who decide to take more care then they’ll probably consider it a success and will try to change a few more minds next time (showing the impact on the signs of ageing would be a good one – vanity is an easy win). I think allowing the interaction gives them a better chance of seeing what does hit the spot or what needs to be tweaked for the next campaign to be more powerful.
[Yes, you will probably see me tweet a lot over summer about going to the beach because I am a hypocrite. I am a lot more cautious now though.]
@Campbell Good point. Yet for some reason I still couldn’t help having that frame as the leading image for the post.
@Mandi The experience you’ve shared there has more impact than any TVC or education campaign could. It’s an example of how powerful conversations can be in getting the message across.
It’s hard one isn’t because they are not doing the traditional sell a product. I think your point about it being a serious issue makes it tough and I think there is little room for discussion not so much because it can’t happen but more because the kids don’t want to talk about it – the kids know it is wrong but just don’t give a fuck.
Probably the best approach I ever saw in terms of education was to have a young fella who had half his back cut off because of skin cancer, just wander the beach showing people how they could turn out if they didn’t protect themselves. Now that’s a cracker way to have personal, one-on-one discussions and in real time … that’s real social.
I kinda disagree with James a little. The Govt needs to get the message out there …they are the ones who have to spend our tax dollars supporting the dickheads who get skin cancer instead of spending it on more important stuff.
BTW – not sure this is new is it? Pretty sure it was out last year. Even still, the approach just reminds me of a smoking ad anyway.
@Oyster – geez, that’s a full on approach but can see how it can be effective. There’s obviously many real horror tales out there – you wonder why they stick with hot models in red bikinis?
Could be an old one. I blame living in QLD and not having daylight savings. We’re not just an hour behind.
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Nathan Bush
Digital Strategist at DP Dialogue
Brisbane, Australia
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