Cancer Council hits Bondi Beach at 10am on Saturday 21 Feb for a unique SunSmart promotion.
To demonstrate the power of the Australian sun, Cancer Council volunteers will hand out hundreds of red apples scorched with the message ‘Save Your Skin’, along with sunscreen samples. Grown in a shady orchard over previous weeks, the sun still easily scorched the campaign message onto the skin of these apples. It’s possibly the first time apples have been used as a media channel in an advertising campaign.
The promotion reinforces to sunbathers how easy it is to get sunburnt. Sunburn can occur in as little as 15 minutes – even on mild days when UV radiation still penetrates clouds. Sunburn causes skin damage and increases the risk of developing skin cancer.
By reinforcing SunSmart messages right through summer, Cancer Council hopes to encourage Australians to challenge the country’s status of having the highest rates of skin cancer in the world.
Cancer Council Australia CEO, Professor Ian Olver, said skin cancer incidence was on the rise in Australia. “Two in every three Australians will be diagnosed with skin cancer before the age of 70, and 1600 Australians die from it each year,” he said. “Yet most skin cancer is preventable by being SunSmart.”
Advertising agency Euro RSCG Australia created the idea of using apples to convey the message, and executed the promotion pro bono. Executive Creative Director, Rowan Dean commented, "The concept’s beauty is that the villain - the sun - delivers the bad news. The skin damage reveals the message."
The Cancer Council Outreach Service will also be present at Bondi Beach on Saturday 21, to provide information brochures, cancer advice from Cancer Council information officers and interactive displays.
Launched last year, the Outreach Service uses a specially modified vehicle transformed into Australia’s first-ever mobile cancer advice centre. It travels around NSW and provides communities with convenient access to information about cancer and Cancer Council support services. The Outreach Service is a welcoming place to sit down, speak with cancer support officers and access reliable cancer information.
On Sat Feb 21, the Outreach Service will encourage people on Bondi Beach to complete a questionnaire, motivating them with prizes of Cancer Council beach tents, rash vests and sunglasses. Cancer Council mascot, Sid Seagull, will be in attendance to keep the kids entertained!
Cancer Council believes it is vital to reinforce sensible sun protection behaviour throughout the year. “Australians understandably enjoy their summer activities,” Professor Olver said, “but we need a balance between our love of the outdoors and protecting ourselves from a common and potentially fatal illness, which in most cases could be easily prevented.”
MEDIA CALL: Bondi Beach, 10am Saturday 21 Feb, in front of pavilion.
The Save Your Skin promotion will combine with a media call for Cancer Council’s
launch of the ‘Blue Chip’ report (see separate release).
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Lesley Branagan, 0439 827 781
lesley.branagan@cancer.org.au