McCann Erickson launched the campaign on behalf of Skcin to raise awareness of the growing threat of skin cancer.
Using print and outdoor ads, street leafleting, PR and digital seeding McCann Erickson and Skcin launched a fake company called ComputerTan, offering people the chance to get regular top-up tans from the comfort of their office desk using "revolutionary new technology".
The fake ComputerTan.com site allows people to switch on what they expect to be a free tanning session but once the screen has converted to an array of UV bulbs users are confronted with shocking images and facts about skin cancer as well as a link to Skcin's website for more information.
The hoax launched on February 3 and will run until February 9 when Skcin will reveal how many people were enticed into visiting the site with the offer of a free trial of the tanning service via their computer screen.
The charity hoped that the media would play along with the hoax until the later date, but The Sun carried a story today explaining who was behind it.
McCann Erickson created an infomercial film fronted by fictional ComputerTan spokeswoman Hannah Yasmin, who tells her audience how they can look "Tan-tastic" and offers a free trial of the service via the website.
The 20 second ad is also running on CBS Outdoor's digital network on the London Underground using 75 cross track screens at 11 stations over two weeks.
The strategy, developed by McCann Erickson with viral marketing agency Rubber Republic, included online seeding of the film on hundreds of sites and persuading influential bloggers to join in the hoax.
McCann Erickson claims to be on track to reach 100,000 hits by the end of the first week and aims to reach 1m over the course of the two week campaign. So far users are spending well over a minute on the site on average.
CBS Outdoor's cross-track projection sites are reaching 1.7m commuters a day in London and the digital campaign has generated in excess of 8,000 references on Google in the first day of activity.
Simon Hill, new business director at McCann Erickson, said: "This campaign was designed to engage those most at risk of developing skin disease and those most difficult to talk to via conventional advertising.
"The fact that so many people fell for the ComputerTan hoax demonstrates the frightening truth that getting a tan -- regardless of the risk -- is still appealing for many people."
Richard Clifford, co-founder of Skcin, said that the campaign is a humorous way to raise awareness of a very serious issue.
He said: "More people die of skin cancer in the UK every year than in Australia. It is the most common form of cancer in young adults (15 - 34) and is largely preventable.
"The lack of regulation concerning the use of sunbeds is an extremely serious issue that has a comparatively low profile, and this campaign highlights the fact that it is high time for a change in the law."
Comments
what a great campaign. site looks good, gets the message across. well done to all concerned.
I agree, the campaign had me fooled. It must be convincing as Adverblog have not caught wind of this yet. Good stuff, can't wait for the iPhone app.
ONly found out about it here first, so gutted not to be fooled by it, but all the same a great campaign. Thanks to The Sun for ruining it for everyone...idiots.
Really well done, have to admit I was drawn in...brilliant!
it's pretty good, but i don't think many people were dim enough to be fooled by it. People here just found it mildly interesting as a viral campaign.
What do you mean fooled by it? I've been sat here all day and Carol Thatcher has just complimented me on my tan.
J P - 06/02/2009
Love it...certainly different from the usual vanilla campaigns produced by charities.
Hats off to McCann. Great work. Loved the delivery, very convincing...
are you all mad? it's a misguided shallow and distasteful campaign that trivialises skin cancer. only a media wanker would like it
and i bet most of you work for the fucking agency behind it
J P - 07/02/2009
I think you might have some issues!
I just don't get it - Mr Clifford says it was his way of getting the message across in a humorous way - his wife died of malignant melanoma, what is funny about it? And what a load of crap, as if anyone was fooled - I received it by email, I simply opened it to see what it was - I thought it was crass and disrespectful to Mrs Clifford and to my friend who also died aged 26. There are other ways of alerting attention to this problem. Stupid "ad" campaigns are ineffective.
Most people just think its a shit advert for fake tan, because it mentions bottles of stuff. And in the world of dumb tanning, fake tan is broadly harmless anyway. Very confusing.
You have to actually 'run' the stupid tanning feature before it 'reveals' that its a hoax and threatens users with horrid pictures of skin cancer. If you just visit the site, you're not necessarily any the wiser.
It manages to be both too dumb and too clever at the same time: those that are taken in are manipulated and alienated like those vitriolic anti-god ads; most users just miss the point of it completely.
The fact that 30,000 people have visited the site means that the agency who 'cleverly' made it are no doubt smugly assuming that 30,000 were 'taken in'. I'd wager that many of them work in the 'industry' and visited it out of curiosity, like us. I'd further wager that not one single ordinary consumer was persuaded in any meaningful way because the campaign is so muddled and confusing.
It amounts to 'clever' people trying to teach 'stupid' people a lesson by tricking them. Anything that attempts to 'hoax' ordinary people over something so serious in such an opaque way is contemptible in my view. I'm glad The Sun 'broke' the story and refused to be part of the horrid business.
Hate.
My in laws live in Cyprus - Ive sent this and waiting for a bollocking email ! Brilliant !
I think Anil has hit the nail on the head - most posters here work for the agency or are a bit simple.
I dunno - only one of those bigging it up is a suspicious first time poster. the rest look legit \(if simple)
1. The campaign is a good idea. There the praise should stop.
2. The execution is extremely poor, it looks far too much like a hoax slapping itself on the back
3. It seems like McCanns have spent so much time auto fellating over this idea that they left the actual point of this campaign as a side concern. Just throwing a few cancer pictures at people totally fails to actually connect repeated high UV exposure to the cancer. Its not original, and will sadly save few lives.
4. Its nice to see that they have sold them a "mobile app". Who is ever going to download this from a site which cannot be viewed on a mobile phone?
Basically yet again we see McCann's delivering a web campaign with very poor execution. It's sad to see here the real victims will be cancer deaths that would have been saved with a well executed campaign.
Soon enough clients will wise up and start going to proper digital agencies for digital campaigns. Would you ever get your web agency to draft your print ads? Nope!
Comments
Paul Smith - 05/02/2009
what a great campaign. site looks good, gets the message across. well done to all concerned.
Stephen P - 05/02/2009
I agree, the campaign had me fooled. It must be convincing as Adverblog have not caught wind of this yet. Good stuff, can't wait for the iPhone app.
Carl Martin - 05/02/2009
ONly found out about it here first, so gutted not to be fooled by it, but all the same a great campaign. Thanks to The Sun for ruining it for everyone...idiots.
Adam Sangster - 05/02/2009
Really well done, have to admit I was drawn in...brilliant!
Ed Kemp - 05/02/2009
it's pretty good, but i don't think many people were dim enough to be fooled by it. People here just found it mildly interesting as a viral campaign.
jezwaspsrule - 05/02/2009
What do you mean fooled by it? I've been sat here all day and Carol Thatcher has just complimented me on my tan.
J P - 06/02/2009
Love it...certainly different from the usual vanilla campaigns produced by charities.
James Newman - 06/02/2009
Hats off to McCann. Great work. Loved the delivery, very convincing...
Anil Kapoor - 07/02/2009
are you all mad? it's a misguided shallow and distasteful campaign that trivialises skin cancer. only a media wanker would like it
Anil Kapoor - 07/02/2009
and i bet most of you work for the fucking agency behind it
J P - 07/02/2009
I think you might have some issues!
Katy Rogers - 08/02/2009
I just don't get it - Mr Clifford says it was his way of getting the message across in a humorous way - his wife died of malignant melanoma, what is funny about it? And what a load of crap, as if anyone was fooled - I received it by email, I simply opened it to see what it was - I thought it was crass and disrespectful to Mrs Clifford and to my friend who also died aged 26. There are other ways of alerting attention to this problem. Stupid "ad" campaigns are ineffective.
Mickey Mouse - 09/02/2009
Most people just think its a shit advert for fake tan, because it mentions bottles of stuff. And in the world of dumb tanning, fake tan is broadly harmless anyway. Very confusing. You have to actually 'run' the stupid tanning feature before it 'reveals' that its a hoax and threatens users with horrid pictures of skin cancer. If you just visit the site, you're not necessarily any the wiser. It manages to be both too dumb and too clever at the same time: those that are taken in are manipulated and alienated like those vitriolic anti-god ads; most users just miss the point of it completely. The fact that 30,000 people have visited the site means that the agency who 'cleverly' made it are no doubt smugly assuming that 30,000 were 'taken in'. I'd wager that many of them work in the 'industry' and visited it out of curiosity, like us. I'd further wager that not one single ordinary consumer was persuaded in any meaningful way because the campaign is so muddled and confusing. It amounts to 'clever' people trying to teach 'stupid' people a lesson by tricking them. Anything that attempts to 'hoax' ordinary people over something so serious in such an opaque way is contemptible in my view. I'm glad The Sun 'broke' the story and refused to be part of the horrid business. Hate.
AwallafaShagba - 09/02/2009
My in laws live in Cyprus - Ive sent this and waiting for a bollocking email ! Brilliant !
Ed Kemp - 10/02/2009
I think Anil has hit the nail on the head - most posters here work for the agency or are a bit simple.
ormiston groove - 11/02/2009
I dunno - only one of those bigging it up is a suspicious first time poster. the rest look legit \(if simple)
David Quantick - 03/03/2009
1. The campaign is a good idea. There the praise should stop. 2. The execution is extremely poor, it looks far too much like a hoax slapping itself on the back 3. It seems like McCanns have spent so much time auto fellating over this idea that they left the actual point of this campaign as a side concern. Just throwing a few cancer pictures at people totally fails to actually connect repeated high UV exposure to the cancer. Its not original, and will sadly save few lives. 4. Its nice to see that they have sold them a "mobile app". Who is ever going to download this from a site which cannot be viewed on a mobile phone? Basically yet again we see McCann's delivering a web campaign with very poor execution. It's sad to see here the real victims will be cancer deaths that would have been saved with a well executed campaign. Soon enough clients will wise up and start going to proper digital agencies for digital campaigns. Would you ever get your web agency to draft your print ads? Nope!