Case Study: Slather SPF

Why Was Slather Unique, and What Made Them Stand Out?

Slather wasn’t born from incremental tweaks to the sunscreen playbook. It launched with a sharp, disruptive vision: change how people think about sunscreen. Created by the Melbourne agency SickDogWolfman, Slather spotted two gaps in the SPF market—first, that most messaging looked sunny, carefree, and beach-y; second, that many ‘at risk’ groups (especially men or those who work outside) were being underserved in communication.

Instead of leaning in with soft visuals, pretty beaches, or models in bikinis, Slather’s framing is darker, more confrontational: “The Sun Is Not Your Friend.” Their tone blends humour, horror, and urgency. They treat the sun as a villain, using visuals, ads, and packaging to make that villain vivid—scary, even.

Among what makes it stand out:

• The brand positioning flips category norms. Sunscreen is usually about loving the sunshine; Slather reframes the relationship as adversarial.

• Their creative voice is aggressive, witty, not afraid to be a bit shocking (face-melting effects, grotesque sun characters).

• Targeting men more explicitly—an often under-targeted demographic in SPF marketing, despite often greater exposure to sun.

• The product itself is treated seriously—not just the design and messaging. They launched with broad-spectrum SPF50+, moisturiser qualities, etc.

Their Detailed Marketing Strategy

Slather’s marketing strategy is bold. Here are its key pillars:

1. Brand Positioning: The Sun is the Antagonist
   Slather uses “The Sun Is Not Your Friend” as its central tension-creating line. It reframes sunscreen from being an accessory to being protection from a threat. This gives the brand something dramatic to build around—not just product benefits but danger, prevention, and urgency.

2. Visual Identity & Packaging
   The packaging design leans into sharp contrasts: loud yellow and black colors, strong typography, minimal frills. It distances Slather from pastel, beach-scenery tones. The brand uses memorable graphic cues (a sun icon that looks menacing) so that even glance-based recognition is high.

   

3. Creative Advertising: Shock, Humor, Conversation
   Their launch ad uses horror-comedy: face-melting, grotesque visuals with surreal humour. They use animations, jingles, over-the-top imagery to create emotional reactions (disgust, fear, surprise), which tend to stick. Also, they embrace absurdity in copy and visuals, leaning into conversational tone rather than scientific or purely safety-oriented messaging.

4. Targeting & Audience Framing
   They explicitly aim at males and others who spend long periods outside or aren’t mindful about sunscreen (tradies, outdoor workers, gamers who step outside). They challenge existing norms (sun = holiday = fun) and position Slather as the brand for real life—sun exposure isn’t occasional, it’s constant.

5. Channel Strategy & Community Engagement
   Slather launched via direct-to-consumer (online store), lean social media (TikTok, Instagram). Their content isn’t glossy; it’s rougher, more irreverent. They also use OOH (out-of-home) posters with striking slogans, bold fonts. Copywriting is strong even in less visible places (FAQ’s, fine print). They are building identity in every touchpoint.

6. Tone & Messaging Balance
   Because sunscreen is about health, there’s seriousness. But Slather balances the heaviness with irreverent humour. They bring levity, but don’t dilute the urgency. For example, using comedy to open the viewer’s attention, but then delivering the safety message.

How Can Other Business Owners Use / Implement These Lessons?

Slather provides a compelling playbook, especially for challenger brands. Here’s how business owners in other sectors could use or adapt these principles:

• Reframe category norms: Identify what's expected in your market (tone, style, visuals). Then ask: what if I flipped it? The norm becomes the thing to rebel against. That contrast can provide powerful positioning.

• Make your antagonist visible and tangible: Just like Slather made ‘the sun’ a villain, brands can find what feels like the threat in their category (e.g. waste in fashion; noise in headphones; false hope in wellness) and personify or dramatize it. It helps build narrative tension.

• Visual boldness matters: Packaging, product design, branding aren’t afterthoughts—they’re front-line marketing. Strong, distinctive visuals that break from category clichés help get noticed.

• Be willing to polarize: Slather’s tone isn’t for everyone. Some people will dislike the shock or the darkness. But polarizing content often leads to conversation, memorability. It matters in categories where everyone is doing the same thing.

• Consistency across all touchpoints: Messaging tone, copy style, visuals, social content, FAQs, packaging—all need to align. If any element feels generic or safe, the contrast weakens. Slather shows that even small spaces (labels, fine print) can reinforce identity.

• Balance fun with function: In serious categories (health, environmental, safety), it's risky to go full shock or humor. Ensure that the product delivers real efficacy, safety/usability, and that messaging doesn’t trivialize the seriousness.

Takeaways

• Differentiation through disruption: Slather shows that radical repositioning—making the category villainous—can help a new entrant stand out immediately.

• Voice & identity are competitive assets: Tone, humor, and personality can be just as important as the product itself in building recall and loyalty.

• Visual branding over ad spend: Bold packaging, brand characters or villains, strong typography—these are long-lasting and often more cost-efficient than competing by media spend alone.

• Targeting underserved audiences wins: Focusing on men, or people who are outdoors more, helped Slather use marketing where competitors had largely ignored opportunity.

• Risk + creativity = potential reward: Big creative swings might alienate some, but for brands trying to enter noisy markets, it may be the cost of getting noticed.

• Mission + meaning build attachment: By treating sun exposure as serious, incorporating data (high skin cancer rates, low sunscreen use), Slather isn’t just selling lotion—they’re selling protection and care. That builds deeper loyalty.