Sunscreen works, but does this?

It's summer! The season of later nights, sundowner cocktails, parties on the beach, boating and yes SUNSCREEN. I live in Florida, so a big fan of sunscreen. As the great hypothetical commencement speech "Wear Sunscreen", by columnist Mary Schmich, originally published in June 1997 in the Chicago Tribune explains, "SUNSCREEN WORKS". If you want to learn more, listen this to this great spoken word song version released in 1999 by Baz Luhrmann, "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)" in his remix of Romeo and Juliet. It is here https://bit.ly/3KAXJrC and it's all still relevant today. so I suggest you watch...... (I think Gen Z are taking a lot of this to heart - irony it was made late nineties)

Anyway I digress. Check out this billboard.

From a marketing perspective, this breaks some rules and, but leans into other dimensions of brand messaging that I love. It gives a sense of leadership and community responsibility. It's brilliantly clear in it's simple and relevant message.

Did you recognize the brand? (I did, but confess, there's a tube on my vanity as I use it when I go outside!). There's no brand name. Even in the product shot, they didn't use their branded product. Typical rules would expect otherwise, but they stayed true to the message. Do you believe your brand is strong enough to get value form a category message without overt branding?

Does it come across as authentic? It is still an ad in their brand colors with their icon (no brand name). And does that even matter, it's just sunscreen. Some could say it's a risky bold move, but I think while it's a cluttered category, with lots of great new and fun entrants, (like https://www.vacation.inc/) you have to take a stance and this is a relevant one.

Is the design of the 'gorilla' and colors, iconic enough to carry the brand message to get value form the investment or is it about just building the category. I think they are trying for both. They have good distribution, great product, branding (I checked out in a Target) is bold and easily identified. And, too many people dont wear sunscreen. (Being Australian, as a baby I was taught to Eat, Walk, Apply Sunscreen and Swim in that order).

Would you ever explore this type of approach with your brand?

And if you ever need strategic consulting to help strengthen your brand, call me. Until then, wear sunscreen.

And in case you didn't get it, the brand is here: https://www.sunbum.com/ and for the record, I loved this and the brand.... I 'trust the bum.'