‘If You Could See UV' Skin Cancer Prevention Campaign Toolkit
Jump to:
- Campaign overview
- Watch the campaign video
- Why we need a campaign
- Campaign audience
- Key campaign messages
- Campaign assets
- Further information
Campaign overview
The 'If You Could See UV' campaign uses a combination of hard-hitting and supportive creative assets. The campaign aims to increase sun protection behaviours among young people to reduce their lifetime risk of developing skin cancer. The campaign demonstrates the scale and danger of UV rays by depicting them as illuminated arrows hurtling down from above, transforming it into a tangible and ever-present threat.
The campaign is live from December 2023 to March 2024 and is being delivered across a range of mass media channels, including social media (TikTok, Facebook, Instagram), YouTube, digital display, cinema, music apps and outdoor advertising.
Watch the campaign video
Why we need a campaign
Overexposure to UV radiation is estimated to cause over 95 per cent of skin cancers in Australia.[1] Fortunately, primary prevention behaviours – including slipping on protective clothing, slopping on SPF50+ sunscreen, slapping on a broad brimmed hat, seeking shade, and sliding on sunglasses – are highly effective in reducing the risk of developing skin cancer.[2] A campaign is needed to encourage young people to make these life-saving behaviours part of their daily routine.
There is good evidence supporting the positive impacts of skin cancer prevention campaigns. A 2016 study of three skin cancer prevention campaigns delivered by the Cancer Institute NSW between 2006 and 2013 found they contributed to an estimated 13,174 fewer skin cancers and 112 averted deaths.[3]
Campaign audience
The campaign will target 18–24 year olds in NSW. This group is particularly at risk as they are less likely to protect their skin from the sun than the general population.[4]
Melanoma is one of the leading cancers among young Australians.
Key campaign messages
- Melanoma is one of the most common cancers among young Australians.[5]
- If you could see UV radiation, you would protect your skin.
- Be prepared before you go outdoors.
- Protect your skin in five simple ways: Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek, and Slide.
Campaign assets
The 'If You Could See UV' campaign combines hard-hitting ads that warn young people about the dangers of UV radiation with supportive ads that remind them how, when and where to protect their skin. Together, they aim to motivate young people to protect their skin from harmful UV radiation.
Please use our assets below to help promote the campaign.
Further information
- For further information about the campaign and our work preventing skin cancer visit https://www.cancer.nsw.gov.au/protect-your-skin.
- Or, contact us directly at CINSW-SkinCancerPrevention@health.nsw.gov.au.
1. Arnold M et al. 2018. Global burden of cutaneous melanoma attributable to ultraviolet radiation in 2012. Int J Cancer. Sep 15;143
2. Liew, A.Y. & Cust, A.E. (2021). Changes in sun protection behaviours, sun exposure and shade availability among adults, children and adolescents in New South Wales, 2003-2016. Aust N Z J Public
Health, 45(5):462-468.
3. Doran C.M, et al. 2016. Benefit Cost Analysis of Three Skin Cancer Public Education Mass-Media Campaigns Implemented in NSW, Australia. PLoS ONE. 11(1)
4. Cancer Institute NSW. Sun protection behaviours in NSW, 2018. NSW Government.
5 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. 2018. Cancers in adolescents and young adults. Cat. no. CAN 100. Canberra: AIHW. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/cancer/cancer-in-adolescents-young-adults-australia-2023/contents/summary