Almirall has launched a new story-based campaign to raise awareness of chronic dermatological disease rosacea in the US.
The Barcelona-based pharmaceutical company’s The Red Girl tells a tale of an embarrassed woman sending an apologetic email to her date.
As the story develops the woman explains she felt embarrassed that her condition flared up during their date, prompting her to leave without warning.
Although the cause is still unknown, rosacea affects around 16 million people in the US alone and is found to be more common in women than men.
The condition can cause redness and pimples typically on the face and neck. Additionally, flare-ups can worsen over time and the skin may adopt a roughened, orange peel texture.
As a ‘less well known disease’, Almirall aims to expose the negative psychological effects rosacea has on an individual by launching The Red Girl as part of its Derma Stories and #SharedSkin initiative.
The #SharedSkin campaign features 5 Almirall employees – one of which appears to have the symptoms of rosacea – with fake skin conditions to show the social impact of living with a dermatological disease.
Almirall said rosacea has “profound effects on a person’s psychological health” and due to its “highly visible nature it takes a particularly heavy toll on patients as there is no cure”.
After acquiring Poli Group in 2015, Almirall obtained a dermatology focused R&D structure including its rosacea brand.
Rosacea has also held a strong focus with various other pharmaceutical companies, among them Omega Pharma and Galderma, and work by both was highlighted at the 2015 Communiqué Awards.