If you need something genuinely creepy to ruin your Monday, consider a car upholstered entirely in silicone skin that sunburns when exposed to UV rays. Yes, really.
Australian creative agency TBWA\Eleven has teamed up with creature effects specialists Odd Studio to build what they're calling the Sunburnt Car - an installation designed to make drivers viscerally uncomfortable about something most of us never think twice about: the UV radiation we absorb through our car windows.
Why a skin-covered car?
The concept is deliberately provocative. The interior of the vehicle - dashboard, panels, seats and all - has been crafted from hyper-realistic silicone "skin" that mimics human tissue in unsettling detail. Sit it in the sun, and it reddens just like a real sunburn. The effect, according to reporting by Dezeen, is described by the creators themselves as "unhinged."
That word feels accurate. But the discomfort is the entire point. Many people assume that being inside a car offers protection from the sun, when in fact UV rays - particularly UVA - can penetrate standard glass with ease. The skin on your left arm, the side closest to a driver's window, tends to age faster as a result. Dermatologists have been flagging this for years, but a statistic in a pamphlet rarely hits the way a car seat that looks like it has a sunburn does.
The craft behind the concept
Odd Studio's involvement is worth noting here. They're creature effects designers - the kind of team that makes movie monsters look terrifyingly real. Bringing that level of craft to a public awareness campaign is a smart move. The result isn't just a conversation starter; it's a piece of work that's genuinely hard to look at, which means it's genuinely hard to forget.
There's a long tradition of using shock and spectacle in health campaigns, but the Sunburnt Car feels like it belongs to a newer wave of experiential, design-forward awareness work - the kind that gets shared, debated, and remembered long after a traditional ad would have scrolled past.
What to actually do about it
The practical takeaway is pretty simple: UV-protective window film for your car exists and works. Wearing SPF on your arms and face, even on a regular commute, also makes a real difference over time. These aren't radical lifestyle changes - just small adjustments that your future skin will thank you for.
But first, maybe spend a moment sitting with how unsettling it is to imagine your car seat getting sunburned. That feeling? That's the campaign doing exactly what it set out to do.
