Most Colombians believe they only need skin protection when they go to the beach or the pool, but the reality is that the sun is just as damaging in cities.

We wanted to launch Banana Boat for the city through a mass sampling of our product. We noticed that people in cities are always looking for shade to protect themselves from the sun, and as the shades move, they will need skin protection. We started looking and mapping popular shadows thrown by building, monuments and trees where are targets usually looks for shade and in this shadow we created are sampling activation. Inside those mapped shadows, we placed custom built vending machines that reacted to the sun. When the shadow moved and the sun hit a solar panel on top of it, the machine was activated and dispensed sachets of Banana Boat Sun Block for the city.

Inside those mapped shadows, we placed custom built vending machines that read: “Protect yourself from the sun under this shade from 2 o’clock until 2:40pm. For the rest of the day, use” and an arrow directing people to take a sample. Each machine had different times depending on the location and the shadow’s projection time.

These vending machines reacted with the sun: when the shadow moved and the sun hit a solar panel on top, it activated dispensing sachets of Banana-Boat sun block. These sachets had a sticker that taught people on how to protect themselves from skin cancer.

For 3 days, twelve machines where spread throughout the city. More than one thousand sachets where given out with the skin cancer prevention info that promoted the protection from skin cancer. The machines and the action were talked about by the media and people that shared it through social networks, gaining free press for the brand, but most of all it created a powerful conversation on the importance of skin protection in the cities.