According to Gen Z, tanning culture is back. With the resurgence of the Y2K-nostalgia aesthetic, combined with trending hashtags like #tanmaxxing (490 posts) and #tanningroutine (31.8K posts), the bronzed-beachy look is the goal, even if it means Gen Z is damaging their skin.
CeraVe’s latest campaign aims to protect Gen Z from themselves by transforming a college backyard into a shade-first, SPF-accessible, communal space. CeraVe partnered with television personality and renovator Tyler Cameron and Florida-based dermatologist Dr. Chloe Goldman to turn the Florida Tri Delta Alpha Eta sorority chapter’s backyard into a sun-safe communal hub.
The campaign reimagines a college-group space, combining it with sun safety and CeraVe’s new launch, Invisible Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50, giving college students the tools they need to implement healthier suncare habits.
"I've renovated a lot of spaces over the years, but this one had a bigger purpose," said Tyler Cameron in a CeraVe release. "Partnering with CeraVe gave me the opportunity to do what I love—transform a space—while helping create something that could have a real impact on how Gen Z thinks about sun protection. We wanted to build a backyard students would want to spend time in, where healthier habits become part of the experience."
This campaign comes at a time when Gen Z is showing less interest in sun safety. Google Trends cited in the CeraVe release state that searches for “tanning” have been at their highest point in five years. Searches for “tanning oil” have also gone up 40%. The American Academy of Dermatology backs up the sentiment behind these trends, reporting that one-fifth of Gen Z adults prioritize getting a tan over protecting their skin, and 25% outright admit that looking great now is better than looking worse later.
Gen Z isn’t going to start wearing sunscreen just because someone told them to, which is why CeraVe set out to build an environment that encourages safe suncare habits. The renovated backyard includes a pergola, giving the once sun-splashed lawn some shady space for students to spend time in, and a stocked SPF station, promoting the launch of the Invisible Mineral Sunscreen. Updates also include custom UV Tri Delta letters that change color as a visual reminder to apply SPF, and UV meters. The reinvented Tri Delta backyard is less about warning students about sun damage and more about education around suncare.
"The best sunscreen is the one you'll actually wear every day," said Dr. Goldman. "For a generation navigating so much suncare misinformation online, it's more important than ever to have products that make healthy choices feel simple. That's why I'm excited about CeraVe Invisible Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50 and this campaign; we're helping to build better sun habits by making daily SPF feel more approachable for college students and beyond."
Warning labels and dermatologist lectures clearly haven't cracked Gen Z's suncare habits. CeraVe's bet is different: build an environment where the healthy choice is the effortless one, not the enforced one. Very few brands are playing in that space yet, and that sets CeraVe apart.
