Photo credit: NSW Government
The Dark Side of Tanning by the NSW Government. I love this ad - it really hits the mark. Especially the line “tanning is skin cells in trauma” – if I had a dollar for every time I’ve said that to a friend/loved one, I’d be rich.
See, I think this ad has three main messages to it:
- That, obviously, any kind of tanning is not healthy for your skin and you don’t need to be burnt to be in danger…
- Your skin is in trauma! Hello! Trauma = not good! You wouldn’t want your heart, or your lungs, in trauma…so why is your skin any different??
- It gives me (and my fellow pale-skinned comrades) an excuse to be pale!
Are we reverting back to the peasant days, where pale skin was seen as beautiful? This ad isn’t about ‘beauty’ – far from it! But is there a hidden message that we don’t need to be brown to be beautiful??? That, finally, it is ok to be pale? It is healthy to be pale?
My Mum was born in England, and hence I have inherited the pale skin (my sister, on the other hand, took after my Dad’s dark European complexion). For most of my life I have felt like I’ve needed to either tan naturally or tan with chemicals (fake tan). I dislike both. I either go raw-red, or orange…
Finally this ad has given me a reason to be proud of my complexion. Yes, look at me, I won’t be dying of skin cancer anytime soon!
So I think this ad has really done the job – I have seen numerous friends and acquaintances back off when it comes to UV rays. And I really do think there’s a hidden message about the beauty industry – brown might be beautiful today, but it might be death tomorrow…
