• by Les Luchter , January 22, 2023

Sun Pharmaceutical has tapped Dr. Pimple Popper herself for "AH-ha! It's Acne Hormones," an educational awareness campaign that highlights hormones as a major underlying cause of acne regardless of age, gender or ethnicity.

The focal point of the campaign is a dedicated website at acnehormones.com, which Sun said will be promoted all year through digital media.

On site graphics, Dr. Popper promises to “pop a few acne myths and drop some serious knowledge.”

The 14 “AH-Ha!” moments come in the form of Q&As, and include a rebuttal of the myth that junk food causes acne.

The site is unbranded, although if the user clicks on a bottom-of-the-page graphic reading “Check out a different kind of acne treatment that targets acne hormones in the skin,” they’re taken to the website of Winlevi -- a year-old Sun product the company claims is the first topical acne medication to target acne-causing androgen hormones.

Dr. Pimple Popper is in reality dermatologist Sanda Lee, who came up with the alliterative name for her graphic online videos and long-running, popular TV series on TLC -- in which, yes, she pops pimples.

(So why would anyone want to watch that process? According to a study cited in Elle magazine, those popular pimple-popping videos can trigger "curiosity and disgust," leavened by” a dopamine hormone rush” and “euphoria.” )

In a promotional video for Sun, Dr. Popper/Lee explains “why I joined the AH-Ha! It’s Acne Hormones campaign.”

She says that the campaign will “resonate and stick with people of different ages.”

“Acne is a medical condition,” she continues, “caused by biological processes in the body... really not by external factors like food or hygiene.”

The website also features graffiti-style graphics that show more than 20 individuals at different life stages sharing their personal struggles with acne, while highlighting their personalities, hobbies, and passions.

"Our market research revealed that people with acne have a strong desire to see their struggles with acne recognized, for example in acne product advertising, but also to have themselves depicted as more than just their acne," Andy Nelson, Sun Pharma’s vice president of sales and marketing, medical dermatology, explains in a statement.

Sun Pharma says that acne is the most prevalent skin condition in the U.S., affecting up to 50 million Americans and 80% of people at some point during their lives.