Sun Protection is in the Stars

There's a new constellation coming to town. Moviegoers often base their choices on the number of stars critics award the latest releases. Now consumers can look to the stars for sun protection advice. The U.S. FDA last week proposed a new regulation setting standards for formulating, testing and labeling OTC sunscreen drug products with UVA and UVB protection. The proposed regulation creates a rating system for UVA products using a scale of one to four stars to tell consumers how much UVA protection a product offers. FDA is accepting comments on the proposal until November 26 2007 the Federal eRulemaking Portal or the FDA Web site.

Meanwhile, Euromonitor told GCI in an August 24 exclusive that sunscreens in nourishers and antiagers rose 38% in volume terms between 2001 and 2006. In addition, self-tanning products are gaining sunscreens as they are positioned for daytime use.

Move Over, Brewski

Budweiser and Bud Light will soon be sharing truck space with BORBA Skin Balance Waters and Aqua-Less Crystallines, according to a marketing and distribution deal announced Monday. It sounds like a win-win proposition, with BORBA moving beyond its high-end retailers and gyms and Anheuser-Busch expanding in the sizzling beverage category with something besides beer. Not that there's anything wrong with beer...

Beer never really took off as a beauty product, but BORBA's drinkable skin care puts antioxidants, vitamins and botanicals into water, the beverage of choice when behind the wheel or at the gym. It sounds like a great distribution partnership and suggests some interesting cooperative advertising. It's the kind of creative thinking that moves brands out of their boxes.

Sunscreen Nanotech Questioned

Friends of the Earth yesterday announced the release of a report called Nanoparticles and Sunscreens, aimed at "equipping consumers to protect themselves and their families from potentially harmful substances lurking in their sunscreens." FDA put out a report on its nanotechnology efforts on July 7, referring site visitors to the National Nanotechnology Initiative web site.

So can we talk about nanotechnology? What are your questions? Where do you go for answers? How are they used in your products? How should the industry talk to customers about nanotechnology in the face of reports such as the one released yesterday?

Getting Intimate with Creativity

I happened upon a television program today called Power Networking: How the Biz does Business. It was sponsored by American Express Open, its small business division, and featured Hollywood producers Nancy Meyers, Lawrence Bender and Sydney Pollack talking about the importance of collaboration in getting movies made. Pollack observed that creativity is ultimately an act of intimacy and it's a lot easier to be intimate with people you know. Meyers agreed saying "It's a great relief to work with people you know." Great insight about the benefits of working with people who trust each other enough to be open and honest in the pursuit of excellence. This is the richest kind of collaboration that comes from winning and losing together and building an understanding of how to get the best out of each other. My question for you is can this kind of creative intimacy be trained or mandated? Or can it only happen by working closely together and gaining trust over time?


In another telling remark, Pollack said "if everybody had unlimited resources, I promise you the films would be worse." His point, of course, was that working on a tight budget gets everyone thinking creatively to solve problems and get things done.



I'll just bet you've got a great story about this.