Coppertone Girl Covers Up for Ads

TRENTON, N.J. — After 41 years of flashing her bare behind, Little Miss Coppertone is covering up--but only for an educational campaign tied to new government forecasts of the danger from sun exposure.

The popular symbol for sun care products now sports a T-shirt and hat, and her puppy tugs on her shirt, not her swimsuit. The girl also has a lighter tan than the child who first graced Coppertone bottles in 1953.

The campaign, launched last week, coincides with the National Weather Service’s addition of a daily solar-hazard report.

Explained a spokesman for Memphis, Tenn.-based Schering-Plough HealthCare Products: “By covering her up, we’re symbolically saying that times have changed.”