CHICAGO— As women clad in bikinis and sun dresses pack their towels and hit the beach, and men call in “sick” with a prescription to be filled at the golf course, the American Academy of Dermatology will release two national spots carrying a common message to those men and women alike. Tom Pastorelle of The Colonie and Houlihan Madison Most have teamed up to produce two spots, one aimed at young women warning them about the dangers of the sun, and one geared towards men over 50 who should be checking their skin for spots.

Born begins with piano music and a baby against an all white backdrop. “At what age is the color your skin was meant to be no longer beautiful?” asks a female voice-over. As the voice-over continues, various females, ranging from toddlers to teens, are depicted one at a time, each a bit older than the last and of differing skin tones. The goal is to warn women of the dangers of any form of tanning and to eliminate it from lifestyle choices altogether.

Golf opens with light-hearted music and four men entering a course for a day of golfing. With the sun shining and producing shadows in every frame, a voice-over observes, “think you’ve found every hazard out here today?” As the men hit every sand trap, pond, parking lot and even a flock of geese, the narration goes on to explain the higher risks of developing some form of skin cancer for men 50 and older. It ends with the tagline, “your best shot is to check for a spot”.

At the end of each spot a graphic for spotskincancer.org appears encouraging viewers to seek more information there and through the America Academy of Dermatology. Both spots will launch on ‘Melanoma Monday’- the first Monday in May- that is sponsored by the AAD.

Although Pastorelle has collaborated with copywriter Michael Matykiewicz in the past, it was his first time working with Houlihan Madison Most. “I hadn’t had the opportunity to work with Kevin (Houlihan) before so it was nice to be able to build on my relationship with him and his agency,” said Pastorelle. “Right off the bat we were on the same page creatively as far as how we wanted to get the AAD’s message across. We worked very well together. Despite the serious nature of the spots, the process was an enjoyable one.”

Although the spots were just released on Monday, Pastorelle has already seen firsthand results. “I showed the spot to a colleague of mine just to get a fresh pair of eyes on it,” he explained. “This person is both an indoor and outdoor tanner. Let’s just say after watching this he gave up the rest of his tanning sessions.”

Credits:

Titles: Born, Golf
Client: American Academy of Dermatology
Production: Cartel. Director, Paul Dektor.
Agency: Houlihan Madison Most. Creative Director, Kevin Houlihan. Account Director, Brad Most. ACD/Copywriter, Michael Matykiewicz.
Editorial: The Colonie. Editor, Tom Pastorelle. Assistant Editor, James Helm. VFX/Finish, Tom Dernulc.
Color: NOLO Digital Film. Mike Matusek.
Audio: Chicago Recording Company. Eric Cauwels.
Composer:  Rob Pierce.

The Colonie, www.thecolonie.com
Represented by Megan Kirkpatrick at The House of Representatives.