Aussies 'traumatised' by Cancer Council's 'terrifying' melanoma ad from the 2000s: 'I still know every word'
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Australians are reminiscing on a 'haunting' TV commercial from the 2000s and 2010s that left them 'scarred for life'.
Cancer Council launched its The Dark Side of Tanning campaign in the late noughties using the familiar slogan 'There's nothing healthy about a tan' alongside 'terrifying' graphics showing how melanoma can spread around the body.
Dermal clinician Madeleine O'Brien, from Melbourne, shared the nostalgic commercial online triggering the memories of thousands.
Cancer Council Australia Director, Cancer Control Campaigns and Communications Melody Chew told FEMAIL the campaign made a huge impact on young Australians but there is still a long way to go with many prioritising vanity over skin health.
'(Cancer Council Australia) absolutely popped off with this campaign! It haunts me. Maybe a little too terrifying for 10-year-old me to see but hey, look at me now preaching sun safety. It clearly worked,' Madeleine captioned a TikTok clip.
The ad shows a woman lying on the beach in her bikini without sunscreen on. It then shows a CGI interpretation of melanoma cells spreading into the bloodstream.
'Tanning is skin cells in trauma trying to protect themselves from cancer but one damaged cell can start a melanoma from growing and just one millimetre deep it can get into your bloodstream and spread,' the narrator warns.
'So even if a melanoma is cut out the cancer can reappear months or years later often in your lung, liver or brain and you haven't even started to burn yet. There's nothing healthy about a tan.'
Madeleine said the campaign 'haunts' all Australians born before the 2000s. She called it her 'Roman empire', meaning she still thinks of it regularly.
''There's nothing healthy about a tan' has been engraved into my head for YEARS now,' one woman agreed.
'Yep my friends and I all still say 'tanning is skin cells in trauma!' to each other whenever someone doesn't properly Slip Slop Slap,' another wrote.
![Millennial Aussies said they were 'haunted' the Cancer Council's 'Nothing Healthy About a Tan' ad as a child saying it scared them into staying out of the sun (stock image)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/13/23/82440799-13194135-image-a-205_1710371915796.jpg)
Millennial Aussies said they were 'haunted' the Cancer Council's 'Nothing Healthy About a Tan' ad as a child saying it scared them into staying out of the sun (stock image)
![Dermal clinician Madeleine O'Brien (pictured) shared the nostalgic commercial online triggering the memories of thousands](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/14/03/82440797-13194135-Dermal_clinician_Madeleine_O_Brien_pictured_shared_the_nostalgic-a-41_1710387958587.jpg)
Dermal clinician Madeleine O'Brien (pictured) shared the nostalgic commercial online triggering the memories of thousands
'Yep!!! Watched this in the early 2000s as a little girl and it's the number one reason why I take sun safety SO seriously. Confronting but needed!' a third replied.
Some said they had forgotten about the ad but knew 'every word' when they saw it again.
'I still know this off by heart 24 years later,' one viewer said.
'This was the ad that made me serious about SPF,' another commented.
'I regularly think about the line 'lung liver or brain',' someone added to which Madeleine replied: 'The part that gets to me is 'and you haven't even started to burn yet', I was 10 and convinced I was riddled with melanoma.'
The Dark Side of Tanning campaign was developed by the Cancer Institute NSW for the summer of 2007-2008.
It was then adopted by other organisations including Cancer Council and run in other states and territories over the following years.
![The Dark Side of Tanning campaign was developed by the Cancer Institute NSW for the summer of 2007-2008 then adopted by Cancer Council and run in other states and territories](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/13/23/82440801-13194135-image-a-204_1710371913173.jpg)
The Dark Side of Tanning campaign was developed by the Cancer Institute NSW for the summer of 2007-2008 then adopted by Cancer Council and run in other states and territories
Melody said because the ad was so 'shocking' it was very successful in achieving high recall.
'(The Cancer Council) did some research late last year with young people aged 18 to 30 and we found they were still quoting the line from that ad: 'There's nothing healthy about a tan',' she said.
'We also saw in that research that there's a really strong understanding among young people of the risk of skin cancer and how to protect themselves against skin cancer and we can thank that particular campaign for that.'
Melody said while young people are well aware of the risks of tanning and sun exposure, there is a strong attitude towards ignoring the advice for appearance's sake.
'We need to focus on social media and in particular influencers that are targeting young people, aged 18 to 30, and driving these attitudes that are all image related,' she said.
'The four key attitudes are: "I look slimmer with a tan", "clothing looks better on me when I have a sun tan", "I look sick when I don't have a sun tan" and "I feel more healthy with the sun tan". What we're really seeing is that vanity is trumping mortality.'
Melody said the shock value of the 2007 'Nothing Healthy About a Tan' ad isn't as effective these days with social media.
'They won't work unless we can convince young people that a tan doesn't make them look more beautiful, that their clothes don't look any better on them with a tan, and that they can feel confident without a tan,' she said.
'That's what the Cancer Council and the Australian Government have been working on, and it's a long game.'
The Cancer Council have teamed up with more than 60 influencers who have been promoting the benefits of staying out of the sun and avoiding tanning.
'They've been really fantastic at driving conversations about tanning culture and making sun protection look glamorous and aspirational. Just seeing all of the comments on their posts out there and the way that people are starting to question these really rewarding to watch,' Melody said.
'It fills me with a bit of hope that we actually might be able to climb this big uphill battle. Obviously, this cultural change is not going happen overnight but we're seeing really good early signs of success.'