DMC Digital Ltd (DMC) said the aim of the competition was to be a vehicle to promote sun safety. They said they did not believe the text of the e-mail either condoned or encouraged sunburn explicitly, and when placed in the context of the rest of the competition it was clear that the emphasis was on the danger of overexposure to the sun and the importance of proper care in the sun. They said the main competition prize was a holiday for two, but also included prizes of suncream for the winner and runners up.

DMC explained that the ad was the last of six mailings about the competition, and believed recipients would therefore have been aware of the principles underlying the competition. They said, if recipients were not, the click through link took them to the competition webpage which specifically asked for old sunburn photos and referred to tanning disasters and sunburn nightmares. DMC said they did not want people to risk their skin for the purpose of entering the competition, and were therefore careful throughout the competition to make it clear that they wanted old photos of sunburn.

DMC said throughout the six-week competition period they featured numerous blog posts on sun safety, regularly tweeted sun care tips and engaged in discussion with their users on the necessity of wearing suncream and taking proper precautions against sunburn whilst on holiday. They said the response to the competition through social media channels had been positive, with members of the public submitting their photos with their experience and warnings to others. DMC provided copies of the main competition webpage and examples of their blog posts and social media interactions.