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Abstract: Reducing high rates of sunburn occurrence, linked to the development of skin cancers, has been the focus of sustained social marketing campaigns in Australasia. Despite substantial investment in public health warnings, barriers to preventing sunburn and associated skin cancers remain. The purpose of this article is to illustrate through a holistic model of sunburn how social marketing interventions can be made at both the macro- and micro-environmental levels to minimise the remaining barriers to sun protection. This is achieved though a review of population studies that identify the barriers to preventable sunburn. Integration of the barriers suggests that a holistic approach is needed to understand sun protection behaviour among the general population. This approach supplements existing public health promotion approaches which tend to target an individual’s knowledge and attitude toward sun protection and tanning. From this holistic model of sunburn, the implications for social marketers and directions for future research are presented. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]