Hoax tan campaign generates 450,000 hits

Finance | Vibeka Mair | 10 Feb 2009

A hoax website set up by skin cancer charity Skcin which promises people that they can get regular tans through their computer screen has attracted 450,000 hits in just five days.

The website, which is part of Skcin’s campaign to make the use of sunbeds by under-18s illegal, offers people “regular top-up tans from the comfort of their office desk, using revolutionary new technology”.

In the first day alone, over 30,000 people were tricked into visiting www.computertan.com for a free trial of a service which claims to convert light systems in computer monitors to produce UV rays.

But, the ‘tanning session’, which shows UV bulbs on the computer screen, quickly changes into shocking images of skin cancer and information about the disease from Skcin.

Very serious issue

Richard Clifford, co-founder of Skcin, said the campaign was a humorous way to raise awareness of a very serious issue.

“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 and is largely preventable.

“The lack of regulation concerning the use of sunbeds is an extremely serious issue that has comparatively low profile, and this campaign highlights the fact that it is high time for a change in the law.”

The website, created by advertising agency McCann Erickson, is being advertised on the London Underground and promoted through leaflets on high streets across the country.

It is aiming to reach one million hits by the end of the two-week campaign.

Who's Who: Vibeka Mair

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