Slip! Slop! Slap! SunSmart campaigns

Although largely preventable, Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world. An estimated two in three Australians will develop skin cancer in their lifetime.

To address this problem, in 1980 Cancer Council Victoria launched a groundbreaking campaign featuring Sid the Seagull, who encouraged Australians to “Slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen, slap on a hat” – or “Slip! Slop! Slap!”

Building on the campaign’s success, the SunSmart program was established in 1988 and continues to this day. It remains one of the longest-running and most successful skin cancer prevention programs in the world.

Sid the Seagull and the birth of Slip! Slop! Slap!

In 1981, Sid the Seagull was the star of a television ad conceived by advertising creatives Philip Adams, Peter Best and Alex Stitt. Singing a catchy jingle, Sid urged families to “Slip! Slop! Slap!” to protect themselves from the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Decades later, the message is still central to Australian skin cancer prevention messaging.

The establishment of SunSmart

Following the success of Slip! Slop! Slap! a new skin cancer prevention program called SunSmart was established in 1988 by Cancer Council Victoria. With funding from VicHealth and the Victorian Government, the program has since delivered iconic skin cancer prevention and early detection programs to all Victorians, including workplaces, schools, early childhood centres and healthcare workers.

SunSmart campaigns over the years

Throughout its history, SunSmart has developed many public education campaigns and resources to help lower Victorians risk of skin cancer. This includes television ads, outdoor advertising, and even a Global UV App. Coinciding with the generation who grew up with SunSmart’s messages, melanoma diagnoses among Victorians aged 25-49 has declined by 52% since 1997.

Using lived experience to advocate for legislative change

Melbourne’s Clare Oliver died of melanoma in 2007, aged 26. Her story put a national spotlight on the dangers of commercial solariums. A campaign was produced with the support of the Clare Oliver Foundation featuring footage from Clare’s only two media interviews with the message ‘no tan is worth dying for’. In 2015, commercial solariums were banned in Victoria.