Anti-tanning campaign wins international award
The Cancer Institute’s graphic anti-tanning campaign ‘There’s nothing healthy about a tan’ has won an international Sulzberger Institute sun safety award.
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Cancer Institute NSW cancer prevention manager, Anita Dessaix said the award is international recognition of the incredible impact the Cancer Institute’s campaigns are having both here and overseas.
“There’s nothing healthy about a tan has contributed to a change in teenagers tanning behaviours in the three years it has been on air in New South Wales.
“More teenagers in NSW are seeking shade, wearing protective clothing, using sunglasses and sunscreen than six years ago.
“But the campaign is having a far greater reach than just New South Wales through licensing of the campaigns and popularity of social media. Winning this award is proof that the message is cutting through.”
The announcement came as part of the 68th annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology. The Sulzberger Institute sun safety video contest is judged by an expert panel based on delivery of the message, marketing savvy and production quality.
The contest was created by a group of dermatologists dedicated to promoting sun safety education, particularly to teenagers.
When the 2005 Australian Secondary School Alcohol and Drug survey revealed a picture of wide-spread complacency about the risks associated with unprotected exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation – be it from the sun or artificial tanning devices such as solariums – the need for challenging the desirability for a tan was clear.
View ‘There’s nothing healthy about a tan’ online.
The Cancer Institute’s There’s nothing healthy about a tan campaign challenges the misconception that a tan is healthy by showing the damage that can happen to the skin even before there are signs of burning.
“While the basic ‘slip, slop, slap’ message remains the same, the central task for the campaign is to make this message relevant to everyone, tackling the growing ‘it can’t happen to me’ mentality and the belief that a tan is healthy,” said Ms Dessaix.
“When the campaign went to air few people were regularly taking even the basic steps to protect themselves from the sun with 31 per cent of people feeling more healthy with a tan.
“The campaign is changing these behaviours. As awareness of the dangers associated with tanning grow, young people are becoming more sun smart and less likely to desire a tan.
“However we need to keep working with all young people, to make sure the message is getting across.”
Prefers no suntan
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