VIDEO: Hilarious ad campaign asks suntanned locals to help pasty Danes

The locals in popular southern holiday destinations have been called on to protect the "delicate skin" of the sun-starved Danes.

Published: 9 February 2017 08:54 CET

VIDEO: Hilarious ad campaign asks suntanned locals to help pasty Danes

The ads feature a group of badly sun-burnt Danes. Screenshot: Kræftens Bekæmpelse

Seated behind a desk in what could be government office or embassy, Danish TV presenter Mikeal Bertelsen tells the people of Spain, France, Greece, Italy and Thailand that “Denmark needs your help.”

Reading a missive in each of the five local languages and seated next to a cadre of badly-sunburnt Danes, Bertelsen asks the locals to help protect the Danish holiday makers, who in their desperate search for warmth often forget to take the proper precautions to protect against the sun.

Illustrating the problems using local delicacies like a French croissant or Spanish paella alongside a burnt version with a Danish flag, the videos explains the problem.

“The strong sun is harmful to our delicate skin and every day a Dane dies of skin cancer,” Bertelsen reads. “We know you have enough on your plate but we respectfully request your support – Help a Dane in the sun.”

“Tens of thousand of Danes travel from the cold dark north to your beautiful beaches and when they see a ray of sun they abandon all precaution and roast in the sun hour after hour.”

He then urges the suntanned locals to “remind us, whether on the beach, visiting tourist sites or at the market, that we should put up a parasol, where a hat, or put on sunscreen.”

“Volunteer to help a Dane. In the name of the Danish people, Our sincerest gratitude.”

The campaign has been launched by the Danish Cancer Society (Kræftens Bekæmpelse) and safety foundation TrygFonden. The ads are available in Spanish, Greek, French, Italian and Thai for release in five of the top holiday destinations for Danes.

The campaign, “Help a Dane” was created by Copenhagen agency NoA & Co., for the Danish Cancer Society which warns that Danes have one of the world’s highest rates of melanoma in the world.

Denmark has 19.2 cases per 100,000 people annually – slightly higher than its Scandinavian neighbours – and compared to 14.6 in the UK, 11.4 in Germany and Italy, 10.2 in France and 6.9 in Spain.

The Thai version, which has proved the most popular of the five on YouTube thus far, can be seen below, while the others – plus an assortment of helpful sun safety tips – can be viewed at helpadane.com.

The hilarious campaign comes as another Danish video has taken the internet by storm, with broadcaster TV2's 'All That We Share' ad racking up tens of millions of views.