Melanoma awareness and education charity Mollie’s Fund has launched a new campaign to educate people who use sunbeds about the dangers of skin cancer.
The charity’s ‘Free Killer Tan’ campaign shows free sunbeds being advertised on the street, but those who venture inside are met with a mock-up of what their own funeral could look like.
In the video, one young woman claimed it would have been her first time tanning and said “and after this, never again”.
The shock tactic is designed to raise awareness of melanoma, with the charity claiming just one sunbed session could increase your chance of developing the skin cancer by around 20%. Mollie’s Fund was set up in memory of a 20-year-old woman who died from melanoma.
Its campaign tactics are comparable to the recent Go For Zero campaign by agency 20Something, which wanted to persuade drivers to refrain from speeding by inviting unsuspecting driver to their own funerals, which included eulogies by friends and families.
In another campaign from the end of last year, Randox Laboratories and Langland also employed shock tactics to raise awareness about sexual health testing.
Their spoof documentary, which showed sniffer dogs hunting for people with sexually transmitted diseases (STIs), was underpinned by a social media push and encouraged young people to use a Confidante home STI test.