Terrifying Doll Shows Why Sunscreen is Important

Dolls have a long history of being scary, but Nivea's new sunscreen doll may be the scariest one yet — although for a very good reason. The dolls are intended to demonstrate the importance of wearing sunscreen, which they accomplish by turning bright red in the sun unless they're slathered with sunscreen. If a child forgets to sunscreen his or her doll and it turns red, then the only way to get it to go back to its normal color is to rub sunscreen on it.

Nivea worked with FCB Brasil, a Brazilian based advertising agency, to design the UV-sensitive dolls, which were then distributed to children on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro. It's definitely a cool approach to teaching kids about the importance of sunscreen, but I'm not going to lie: There is something really creepy about watching your doll turn bright red when it's been in the sun while still maintaining its giant smile. Terrifying... or maybe that's just me.

While the dolls are definitely an interesting idea, there appears to be no plan to make them actually available for retail. If you weren't one of the lucky kids who happened to be on the beach that day, you'll just have to learn about the importance of sunscreen the old fashioned way: By getting a repulsive, peely burn one summer day and then vowing never to fall asleep in direct sunlight at 2 PM ever again.

You can watch the full video below, but here are some highlights:

1. First, A Truth Bomb

Ugh, so real.

2. But Then Comes the Doll

I like their font. Very festive.

3. Look at That Cute Face!

How cute is that cute face? So cute.

4. Hi There, Sun Block

5. Buuuuuuurn

He looks surprisingly happy, considering that mad sunburn.

6. A Point of Comparison

Pretty crazy.

7. This Touching Moment

Where the most glamorous little girl in the world applies sunscreen to the most glamorous mom in the world, because she learned that sunscreen is important.

Check out the whole video here:

Images: FCB Brasil/ YouTube (7)