Long Live Skin campaign includes in-store education, social media

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Pharmacy has kicked off Long Live Skin, an in-store and multimedia campaign to promote sun protection and skin health.

CVS said Monday that Long Live Skin starts with a focus on sun safety during May, which is Skin Cancer Awareness Month, and will continue through the summer. The campaign includes store signage with information and tips on sun protection and skin care; videos offering skin care advice shared via social, digital and radio; and special weekly ExtraCare offers on skin care, sun care and other items.

The Long Live Skin Campaign launched with the CVS.com/longliveskin website and on CVS Pharmacy social handles with a video in which women share “advice to their younger self” by offering guidance on life topics including love, loss, courage and embracing inner and outer beauty. CVS said the videos aim to inspire advice sharing across generations of women and will include shorter videos that focus on skin care and beauty routines. Women can join the social media conversation with @CVSPharmacy by using the #AdviceToMyYoungerSelf hashtag on Instagram and Twitter.

Brands currently featured on the Long Live Skin website include Curel, Jergens, CeraVe, Cetaphil, L’Oreal, Vaseline, Neutrogena, Banana Boat, Coppertone, Olay, CVS Health and Skin+Pharmacy.

“We are proud to launch the Long Live Skin campaign to educate and engage consumers around skin care, and this program is a natural extension of CVS Pharmacy’s ongoing efforts to help customers on their path to better health,” Judy Sansone, senior vice president of front store business and chief merchant at CVS Pharmacy, said in a statement. “Taking good care of your skin is part of taking care of your health, so we’re making it easier than ever for our shoppers to access the information and products they need, including those with greater skin health benefits.”

CVS also has partnered with Johnson & Johnson and the American Cancer Society to create exclusive content for in-store signage, CVS.com and the CVS Pharmacy circular. Under the effort, CVS Pharmacy beauty consultants will share information and tips on the importance of proper sun care and skin health with customers. Johnson & Johnson also will donate $1 for every Neutrogena or Aveeno product with SPF 15 or higher purchased between June 18 and 24 to the American Cancer Society to help prevent skin cancer.

“We applaud CVS Pharmacy for working on a campaign to educate and empower consumers to be more proactive regarding skin health,” stated Dr. Richard Wender, chief cancer control officer at the American Cancer Society. “We are thrilled to participate in this partnership that focuses on skin cancer prevention and early detection to help ensure a healthy and safe summer for everyone.”

CVS noted that it already has launched a range of skin health initiatives in its stores. On June 25, CVS Pharmacy is slated to debut a new Skin Solution section at the pharmacy checkout in more than 4,000 stores. The section will feature with education and dermatologist-recommended products for leading chronic and episodic skin conditions, such as acne, rosacea, scarring, rashes and sunburn. CVS said the new store section comes in response to findings that 70% of CVS pharmacists field patient questions on skin concerns daily.

New brands with more skin health benefits also will be rolling out during the course of 2017. Offerings will range from preventive and proactive skincare with increased SPF to more dermatological-approved options and additional natural and organic products.

And by the end of 2019, plans call for all parabens, phthalates and formaldehyde donors in beauty and personal care products in the CVS Health, Beauty 360, Essence of Beauty, Promise Organic and Blade store-brand product lines to be removed. CVS said it’s the only national retailer to pull all sun care products with SPFs lower than 15 from shelves. The drug chain said it also has added more than 30 new SPF+/broad spectrum products that meet or exceed FDA standards.