KEY POINTS:
An "uncompromising" campaign is under way that aims to dampen people's enthusiasm for soaking up the sun.
Blame and guilt are key facets of the television and radio messages, with the parents of pre-teen children the target.
But the Health Sponsorship Council is making no apologies for the tone of the advertisements, pointing out that skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in New Zealand.
Spokesman Wayde Beckman said most parents of today would relate well to the images, which were likely to bring back memories of their own childhood experiences.
In the television advertisement, two children are shown at the end of a day spent in the sun.
A boy, aged about 12, is seen wincing at the pain of shower water on his badly sunburnt body. Meanwhile a girl of the same age recoils in anguish as she pulls her swimsuit over her head.
The advertisement closes with the image of a woman in her 40s lying in a hospital bed with a wound to her neck, presumably after having surgery to cut out a melanoma.
The implication is that the sick woman could be your child in 20 years, while the advice is to "never let your child get sunburnt".
Mr Beckman said parents who had children aged between 8 and 12 were targets of the campaign.
"What we know is that parents of very young children are good at looking after them.
"But when those children get a little older and begin to establish their own identities, the diligence in protecting them from the sun begins to diminish. What we're wanting to achieve is getting parents to maintain that diligence. It's the sort of caution we want those kids to take into their teenage years."
Mr Beckman said the country was on the cusp of the sunniest period of the year.
"The sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays which do the damage are much more intense in New Zealand than in the Northern Hemisphere."
Factors such as cleaner air and more natural UV light were to blame, but other aspects contributed to the danger.
"The orbit of the earth around the sun means the planet is closer to the sun in December and January than when the Northern Hemisphere is having its summer.
"In really hot places [like Australia] you often have no choice but to stay undercover. But in New Zealand in summer the temperature can be perfect for staying out in the sun at the beach or pool all day.
"You can get severely sunburnt and not realise it until you painfully peel off your togs in the evening."
* PREVENTION
According to the Cancer Society, more than 50,000 new cases of skin cancer are reported each year, together with 300 deaths. Most of these are considered preventable.
Skin cancer is directly attributable to the sun's harmful rays, which are at their strongest between 11am and 4pm.
Parents should ensure children SLIP on protective clothing before playing outside.
Then SLOP on plenty of broad spectrum SPF 30+ sunscreen.
After that, SLAP on a wide-brimmed hat or a cap with flaps.
Finally, WRAP on close-fitting sunglasses, which will knock back at least 90 per cent of the dangerous UV rays.
