O2 are helping Brits get heatwave ready in a very unorthodox way

Sunburn's calling

an image of two women taking a selfie, the phone is in focus and the case is the O2 skincase
(Image credit: The campaign from O2, the only major UK provider to offer inclusive EU roaming to all customers, reminds holidaymakers to pay as much attention to protecting their skin while abroad as they do their phone.)
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Ah, summer. Cue the panic-buying of the Pimms, lashing of aloe vera, wilted paddling pools that don’t have the will to live past 28 degrees, and every single Brit complaining that it’s too hot.

If there’s one thing we do just as well as complaining, it’s burning in the unexpectedly fierce sun. Sure, when you’re on holiday with a bit of Greek sunshine beating down on you, it’s easy to remember to layer up the UV protection - hat, sunnies, book, suncream, cocktail - and you’re set. But in the UK, it’s easy to get complacent, the words of ‘I’ll be fine’ coming back to haunt you as your skin turns from tomato to lobster.

Luckily, O2 has come up with a rather interesting way to raise awareness. The provider has teamed up with Creative Technologist Marc Teyssier to create a Skincase. It’s a pigmented phone case which has specialised composites which mimic human skin and burns when exposed to UV rays. Yup, it’s as quease-making as it sounds. More Texas Chainsaw Massacre than Rhode skincare.

an image of three of the skincase phone cases all with different skintones. They are against an orange patterned background

(Image credit: The campaign from O2, the only major UK provider to offer inclusive EU roaming to all customers, reminds holidaymakers to pay as much attention to protecting their skin while abroad as they do their phone.)

The phone case's release comes as the weather forecast predicts, well, a whole lotta heat. The case visually indicates the sun’s harmful UV rays and reminds you to lather up. It’s kind of like a Post-it note with a reminder, if it were made of skin and morphed into different shades of red. After all, what do Brits check the most? Their phones. So really, O2 has cleverly gone to the source of all human sanity and reminders.

The case has been backed by The British Skin Foundation, so you know it’s doing God’s work. The aim is to help Brits stay a little more sun safe as the heatwave crash-lands over the UK this summer.

Like all good designers post 2015, it was made by using a 3D printer, along with flexible filament and silicone casting.

You can actually get your hands on one too; O2 has launched a prize draw where you can enter to win this helpful (if graphic) accessory. It’s perfect for anyone who usually relies on their mates - or more likely their mum - to remind them to top up the cream.

Hermione Blandford
Hermione Blandford
Content Editor

Hermione Blandford is the Content Editor for Shortlist’s social media which means you can usually find her scrolling through Instagram and calling it work, or stopping random people in the street and accosting them with a mini mic. She has previously worked in food and drink PR for brands including Johnnie Walker, Tanqueray, Gordon's, The Singleton, Lagavulin and Don Julio which means she is a self confessed expert in spicy margaritas and pints, regularly popping into the pub in the name of research.

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