First glance: what's going on here?
When I first saw the image, I thought I was looking at a very unfortunate sunburn. Turns out, that was only half the story. It was one of the most effective uses of reactive media I’ve seen in a while: a billboard that literally burns with the sun.
A billboard that burns
What makes this even more impressive is the use of AI. Working with dermatologists, the tech team at The Gardening Club used artificial intelligence to generate each stage of skin damage. Starting from healthy skin, the billboard evolves, frame by frame, into something far more unsettling, all based on real-time UV data.
The British Skin Foundation’s latest campaign, brought to life by Wonderhood Studios, is both clever and chilling. The billboards start with images of healthy, unblemished skin. As the UV levels rise, live and in real time, the skin on the billboard begins to burn. Not metaphorically. Visually. Vividly. The effect is hard to watch and impossible to ignore in its message: protect your skin.
(Image credit: Wonderhood Studios)
Let the tech do the talking
I love a piece of creative work that knows when to shut up and let the tech do the talking. This one is all action. No fancy copy. No over-clever slogans. Just skin, sun, and damage happening right before your eyes. It’s the real-time factor that gets me. This isn’t a dramatization of sun damage. It’s a dramatization at the very moment the sun is doing damage. Like the billboard has its own epidermis.
From base tans to reality checks
It’s also immediately relatable. Growing up in the 70s and 80s, that first sunburn of the summer was a rite of passage. Some even referred to it as their “base tan.” Sunscreen wasn’t about protection; it was about how quickly you could tan without peeling. Fast forward a few decades and a few close brushes with friends and family affected by skin cancer, and that June badge of honour starts to look more like a warning label.
No words needed
Campaigns like this don’t just raise awareness. They jolt us. And they do it without a word. Just a billboard and some sunlight. Props to Tad and Indie for the concept, to the team at Wonderhood Studios for the execution, and to the dermatologists and tech minds at The Gardening Club for getting the visuals medically and technically spot on.
A note on representation
Could they have used a wider range of skin tones? Yes. And that’s a valid critique. But the simplicity of the message, sun burns skin, is hard to ignore
In a world of overdesigned, overthought advertising, this one nails the “keep it simple, stupid” rule. It’s not just a good billboard. It’s a smart, living PSA.
And maybe you won’t feel the warm burn of the sun without being reminded of its dangers.