Every day more than 100 Belgians are diagnosed with skin cancer and one of the main causes is the use of tanning beds. Nearly all modern tanning beds in Belgium use the same voice. Far too many Belgians know the gentle, female voice that guides them through their tanning sessions very, very well.
The woman behind the voice is Jolanda van Cooten, a voice actress from the Netherlands. FCB agency, Happiness, found the woman and convinced her to use her voice for a greater good – a radio campaign for The Belgian Foundation Against Cancer against sunbed use.
In the ad, Jolanda urges people to stop using sunbeds and warns listeners about the increased skin cancer risk. The voice inside thousands of sunbeds across Belgium and the Netherlands has now become the voice of a radio campaign against the use of sunbeds.
Compared to other European countries, sunbed use in Belgium is high. Belgium’s weather is intemperate, and winters can be cold and dark, driving lots of people to tanning salons for a quick bronze. Research from the Superior Health Council of Belgium shows that more than 1 million Belgian people between 15 and 65 years of age use a sunbed yearly. 62% of sunbed users have at least 10 tanning sessions per year, and 23% of sunbed users have more than 20 sessions per year.
The timing of the campaign was carefully selected. Sunbed use is the highest just before summer. One of the main motivations for using sunbeds is “preparing the skin before a holiday”. Many people mistakenly believe that a few artificial UV sessions prior to sunny holidays may protect them against sunburn.
The target audience of this radio campaign is tanning salon visitors. The agency knew that they will not only feel personally addressed by the ad, but they won’t be able to visit a salon again without being reminded of the radio ad. As soon as they switch on their sunbed they’ll hear Jolanda’s voice – every single time.
“In an almost Pavlovian way, this campaign continues to work beyond its airtime,” the agency noted.
Credits
Agency: Happiness/an FCB alliance
Executive Creative Management: Karen Corrigan
Chief Creative Officer: Geoffrey Hantson
Creative Director: Philippe Fass
Creative / Creative Content Director: Barbara Dzikanowice
Senior Creative Coach: Katrien Bottez
Account Manager: Tine Van Hasselt
Researcher: Wesley Roeland
Head of Motion: Remke Faber
Motion Designer: Matthias Vandenbosch
DOPs: Lisa Gadeyne & Sumi Arcos Mina
Agency Producer: Bart Vande Maele
Radio Director: Thierry Van Durme @ Sonicville
Client: Stichting tegen Kanker / Foundation Against Cancer
Communication Manager: Martine Ceuppens
