German skin care product company Beiersdorf AG’s Nivea brand has found an unusual way of campaigning sunscreen targeted at children. The campaign entitled “Care from the Air Bird” uses a seagull drone (read: RC aircraft that looks like a bird) that patrol the sky above the beach, dropping sunscreen on unsuspecting children, much like a real bird does on humans. I know what you are thinking. This is not exactly the most pleasant way of promoting your product, isn’t it? You know, associating sunscreen lotion with bird’s poop and vice versa.
Granted, even though the ‘poop’ here, which happens to be white in color, is sunscreen lotion, but as we all know, some kids can be highly impressionable and since they are undergoing their learning phase of being a human, this bird pooping sunscreen lotion campaign may teach the wrong idea. Hey, lets admit it, not all grown ups are bright and the same would apply to kids. The thing is, what if a real bird comes along and poop like the mechanical version does? Would the children thought that the white excrement is actually sunscreen lotion?
I am not saying that will be case, but there’s a risk that they will mistook birds flying overhead as the same remotely controlled contraption. They may go like “Hey, look, the sunscreen lotion bird. Lets get ready for it.” You can’t deny the aforementioned scenario is probable. I am sure there’s a better way to educate children about the importance of sunscreen. So, start cracking your brains Nivea. Though, we did have a good laugh watching the video.
As a boon, the advertisement did draw our attention (and probably a lot of other parents) to Nivea’s sunscreen products. But that also begs another question: wouldn’t some parents start associating bird poops with sunscreen lotions too? Ok, perhaps they won’t, unless Nivea starts using realistic-looking robotic bird that flaps like the real thing.
Image: screengrab via YouTube video.
