The Latest (& strangest) Nivea Ad Featuring the Sun Burnt Doll

If you’ve taken your family to the beach or an outdoor pool in the summertime, you know that making sure your children have been fully covered in sunscreen is a little like wrestling alligators.

Parents are put to the test with their skills in holding each child in check before they rush to play in the sand or wade in the ocean. Well, Nivea came up with a genius idea, albeit an idea that uses fear as a motivator. They developed a sunburn doll that is sensitive to UV rays. If the doll does not have sunscreen on, it turns that ugly shade of throbbing red that you know if you have ever had a bad sunburn. However, once you apply sunscreen to the doll, the sunburn disappears as if it was never there.

Since most of us, and especially children, learn best when seeing visual demonstrations, the dolls give that in technicolor for maximum effect.

And if you could get hold of one of these dolls, not only do you have a nice demonstration for your children, but you also have a toy to distract them while you win that wrestling match.

The only downside: there is no word that these dolls will be on sale.

They were developed for an advertising campaign, but let’s just say it … what a great learning tool.

The dolls turn lobster red almost immediately after being exposed to UV rays and change back to normal color when sunscreen is applied. They would let your child see the bright red and then you could show them how to apply sunscreen to the doll while you cover them from head to toe.

It’s a lesson they’ll remember at least for that day.

Nivea knocks this one out of the park. Sometimes public safety messages don’t hold attention long enough to learn what the message is about, but this one does. Nivea teaches children and adults to take better care of their skin while they frolic in the sun, and that message is exactly what their brand wants to say.