Timebomb was launched in January 2000, following the success of the How to remove a skin cancer campaign. With a media spend of only $100,000 per year over two summer periods, a significant part of the strategy was to gain unpaid media promotions through television and radio news outlets. This strategy provided SunSmart with excellent coverage and additional support for the paid media campaign.
Support from television networks was very strong, resulting in many community service announcements; however, as a result of the limited budget, the awareness level of the Timebomb campaign was just over 50%.
Timebomb provided SunSmart with the opportunity to communicate about preventing skin cancer and detecting it early. SunSmart received a letter from a melanoma patient who expressed their appreciation for the commercial. After viewing the advertisement, they had a spot and lump checked, which was found to be a melanoma that was treated effectively thanks to early detection.