ISDIN — UV Tattoo to Learn (Spain)
A UV-reactive tattoo turned sunscreen application into a game children could understand—and helped make sun protection something they wanted to do.
Submitted by Havas Play Spain
Winner’s Citation
For transforming the invisible effects of UV exposure into a playful, tangible experience that helped children understand—and participate in—their own sun protection.
How It Makes a World of Difference
Parents understand why sunscreen matters. Children often don’t.
For a young child, the dangers of UV exposure are abstract and distant, while applying sunscreen can feel like an unwelcome interruption. ISDIN saw an opportunity to change the experience rather than simply repeat the warning.
UV Tattoo to Learn used UV-reactive ink and the familiar story of The Three Little Pigs to make sun protection visible. When exposed to sunlight, the Big Bad Wolf appeared on the temporary tattoo. When sunscreen was applied, he disappeared.
Suddenly, children could see cause and effect for themselves. Applying sunscreen wasn’t simply something being done to them; it became part of a game in which they could defeat the wolf and protect the pigs.
The tattoos were distributed through pharmacies and schools, accompanied by story-based materials that helped parents turn sunscreen application into a shared learning experience.
The Difference Marketing Made
Most sun-protection marketing communicates a message: UV rays are dangerous, so wear sunscreen.
ISDIN did something different. It turned the message itself into a tool.
The tattoo made an invisible health risk visible and gave children a simple way to experience what protection does. Rather than asking them to understand an adult explanation about future skin health, marketing translated the science into something immediate, physical and playful.
That’s the difference here. Marketing didn’t simply tell children why sunscreen matters. It helped change the experience of using it.
Results That Make a Difference
The strongest result wasn’t simply visibility.
64% of participating families reported that the UV tattoo helped their children want to apply sunscreen more frequently.
The idea also produced measurable business and communications results. In pharmacies where UV Tattoo to Learn was implemented, sales increased 43%. Social conversation increased 400%, with 97% of posts generated proactively, and the campaign achieved 48 million impressions.
A tiny temporary tattoo accomplished something much larger: it helped turn an everyday struggle over sunscreen into a moment when children could see, understand and participate in protecting themselves.
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