{"id":561778,"date":"2026-03-26T09:46:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T09:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/561778\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T09:46:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T09:46:15","slug":"the-sunburnt-car-highlights-sun-exposure-risks-while-driving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/561778\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sunburnt Car Highlights Sun Exposure Risks While Driving"},"content":{"rendered":"

Creative agency TBWA\\Eleven Australia<\/a> and mycar Tyre & Auto have launched \u201cThe Sunburnt Car,\u201d a campaign focused on sun exposure while driving. New national research commissioned by mycar Tyre & Auto shows a gap between perceived and actual protection in the car.<\/p>\n

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While 92% of Australians say they consider themselves \u201csun safe,\u201d says the campaign, 72% overlook sun protection while driving or riding in a vehicle. The research also found 70% believe they are protected from the sun while in the car, while 39% believe car windows block those rays altogether. In practice, 65% do not apply sunscreen before driving.<\/p>\n

advertisement<\/p>\n

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The findings point to behavior where people protect themselves at the beach, at the park and on high-heat days, but not during daily exposure in the car.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt points to a familiar Australian behaviour hiding in plain sight: people protect themselves at the beach, at the park and on high-heat days, but not during one of the most routine forms of exposure in daily life \u2014 in the car,\u201d said the TBWA\\Eleven Australia<\/p>\n

advertisement<\/p>\n

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Launching at Circular Quay in Sydney, the installation shows a car interior exposed to UV, where the synthetic skin burns and reveals visible damage over time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea was to make the invisible UV risk we take every day visible in an unignorable \u2014 and frankly, unhinged \u2014 way,\u201d said Simon Hayes, Creative Director, TBWA.<\/p>\n

The campaign was developed in partnership with Odd Studio, the Oscar- and BAFTA-winning prosthetic, creature effects and character design studio based in Marrickville, and informed by Dr Joanneke Maitz, surgeon-scientist in Burns and Reconstructive Surgery at Concord Hospital.<\/p>\n

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\u201cOur incredible partners took the craft to the next level, ensuring every part of the synthetic skin reflected exactly what happens to human skin when exposed to UV,\u201d said Archana Murugaser, Creative Director, TBWA.<\/p>\n

Each\u00a0freckle, mole and hair was individually applied, with some moles intentionally resembling those that could be cancerous, reinforcing the campaign\u2019s health message without overstating it.<\/p>\n

That realism was critical to the idea: an ordinary vehicle interior\u00a0rendered\u00a0in skin, then exposed to UV to show the damage many Australians do not realise can occur while driving.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany Australians do not realise that UV exposure in the car creates damage over time, and it can be just as harmful as time spent outdoors if UV levels are high. Damage to your skin can happen without the visible effects of burning,\u201d said Dr Joanneke Maitz.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough UVB, the main cause of visible sunburn, does not typically penetrate glass, UVA does, reaching deeper layers of the skin where it contributes to long-term DNA damage and ageing. Window tinting and treatments can reduce this exposure, but driving with windows or the roof open allows the full UV spectrum through.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adele Coswello, Chief Customer Officer at mycar Tyre & Auto, added: \u201cAt mycar, our commitment extends beyond tyres and vehicle servicing \u2014 we genuinely care about our customers. Our research showed in-car sun exposure is an area where more awareness is needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cAustralians spend\u202fsignificant time\u202fbehind the wheel\u202fdriving on average 12,000 km a year, behind only the US and\u202fCanada, and\u202four research showed this is an area where more awareness is needed. Sunburnt Car was created to bring that message to life in a way that could prompt action.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The campaign also features Anne Gately, author of\u00a0Sunburnt\u00a0and a stage IV melanoma survivor, as an ambassador for the work.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs someone who survived stage IV melanoma, I know firsthand how easy it is to underestimate the sun and what it takes to truly protect yourself,\u201d said Gately.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018The Sunburnt Car\u2019 makes this danger visible and tangible, and I stand behind a project that could genuinely save lives by reminding Australians that sun safety is not optional.\u201d<\/p>\n

The campaign does not stop at awareness. Research also showed that 66% of Australians would find a visual in-car reminder useful to prompt sunscreen use or other protective measures before driving.<\/p>\n

In response,\u00a0mycar\u00a0Tyre & Auto is rolling out 55,000 free\u00a0Sun Spot\u00a0stickers at its 275+ locations nationwide and online. The UV-sensitive stickers change colour when UV is detected, giving drivers and passengers a simple cue to think about protection before exposure builds.<\/p>\n

For more information about The Sunburnt Car campaign, or to order a free\u00a0Sun Spot\u00a0sticker, visit mycar.com.au\/thesunburntcar<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Credits<\/p>\n

Client: mycar Tyre & Auto
Head of Marketing: Cynthia Fernandez<\/p>\n

Agency: TBWA\\Eleven Australia<\/p>\n

Production: Bolt
Director: Daniel Reisinger<\/p>\n

Special make-up and creature effects company: Odd Studio<\/p>\n

Print production: Kwik Kopy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Creative agency TBWA\\Eleven Australia and mycar Tyre & Auto have launched \u201cThe Sunburnt Car,\u201d a campaign focused on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":561779,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[178318,49,48,84,216940,216941,216942,216943],"class_list":["post-561778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-bolt","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-health","tag-odd-studio","tag-tbwa","tag-tbwa-australia","tag-tbwa-eleven"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=561778"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561778\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/561779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=561778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=561778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=561778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}