The sunburnt country is common parlance. A piece of language that has defined our nation for generations. And we sure have lived up to it. Close to 70 per cent of us will get skin cancer due to sun exposure. Yet only 38 per cent of us use sunscreen regularly. The sunburnt country indeed.
To that end, creative agency Pembleton has launched Evil Ray Australia-wide. Evil Ray’s goal is to break consumer apathy around sun exposure. To reframe the sun, not as something to worship, but an evil entity intent on maximum harm.
Evil Ray is launching in Australia before looking to global markets. Starting with three hero launch SKUs, the product suite will expand in 2026 to include an innovative range of skin saving NPD, all designed to beat the sun at its own game.
Pembleton oversaw the creation of the brand from the ground up. This included everything from the packaging, the formulation, the manufacturing and operations process, sales channel planning, and the marketing itself.
The packaging was designed in partnership with Seachange in New Zealand.
The evil sun logo was created by Australian artist, Reg Mombassa.
The packaging, made from recycled plastics, includes a number of manufacturing firsts: innovations in tooling and blow moulds that were created and made in Melbourne. The label itself is UV reactive, creating a simple way for people to know, regardless of cloud cover, when they should be applying sun protection. The formulation was created under the watchful gaze of one of Australia’s leading bio chemists, making the products themselves class leading, next generation formulations.
Evil Ray offers the highest standards of sun protection. Whilst made and manufactured in Australia, the formulations themselves have been tested and verified by independent labs both here and in Europe. Mac Wright from Pembleton said “For the first time in many people’s lives, they’re questioning whether their sunscreen actually works. It’s why we’ve had these sunscreens thoroughly tested, then retested, by multiple independent labs. The results of these tests are clearly printed down the side of our bottles: SPF50+. People can apply Evil Ray and know it does exactly what it says”.
The marketing and communications side of things were also overseen by Pembleton. The nationwide campaign launch is heavily led by social and outdoor.
The campaign is spearheaded by a launch film created by director Julian Frost, with the broader campaign’s design and art direction overseen by Matt Alpass, both of whom added a tremendous amount to the finished project. Also special thanks to Morgan Paki from PS Designs for his world wide web nous.
Says Matilda Hobba from Pembleton, “Evil Ray has been a project where every person who has come on board has improved, crafted and elevated this brand to the highest level. This is a best in class social-led launch, which we believe will drive more people to begin making sun care a daily habit”.
CREDITS
PEMBLETON
Alex Speakman: Business and brand strategy
Simon Bagnasco and Mac Wright: Concept development and creative direction
Matilda Hobba: Project Management
Sheridan Wadelton: Agency Producer
DESIGN:
Matt Alpass: Design
Ed Croll: Finished Art
LOGO DESIGN:
Reg Mombassa
ANIMATION
Julian Frost: Director
Hugo Jackson: Animation and 3D modelling
DIRECTION
Julian Frost – Director
EDITING
Ollie Knocker – Editor
SOUND:
Squeak E – Sound Studio
Paul Le Couteur – Head of Sound
Ceri Davies – Executive Producer
Richard Piper – VO artist
MUSIC
Gusto Music
PHOTOGRAPHY
Cory White
PUBLIC RELATIONS / PRESS OFFICE
Alt Shift: Agency
Sophie Truter – Head of Integrated
Paula Cardamone – Senior Account Director
Shanay Sylvester – Account Coordinator
PACKAGING DESIGN
Seachange – Design Agency
Amanda Gaskin – Creative Partner
Nicole McClure – General Manager
Tim Donaldson – Creative Director
WEBSITE PRODUCTION
Morkan Paki – PS Design Studio
SOCIAL LEAD
Glen Bonetti
SEO
Sonar Group
Angus Gawn – Performance Lead
LOGISTICS AND OPERATIONS
Nick Bernard
SALES
Sarah Jensen
PACKAGING PRODUCTION
Australian Blowmoulding Corporation
Project lead: Greg Ditton
