The ad campaign first ran in 1981 featuring Sid the Seagull, who reminded beachgoers to slip on a shirt, slop on some sunscreen, and slap on a hat.
It's become the longest running advert in Australian history according to Phillip Adams, who created the jingle with composer Peter Best.
"Sometimes we're able to use the devil's tools for good purpose, and it certainly took off," Adams told AAP.
"Mind you, melanoma is such a vast problem in our part of the world, so it has special resonance."
Slip, Slop, Slap! has been widely credited with changing people's attitudes to sun protection over the last several decades.
Indeed, many Australians can probably thank Adams, now aged 84, for improving their health more generally as he also wrote the classic 1980s Life. Be in it. campaign that encouraged people to get active.
Like many ads, Slip, Slop, Slap! used humour to deliver a tough message, said Adams, with Sid the Seagull part of an "outpouring of alliteration".
The jingle was made for what was then The Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria and has been chosen for the Sounds of Australia registry in the National Film and Sound Archive.
The 2023 additions also include Howzat by Sherbet, fronted by lead singer Daryl Braithwaite, while The Seekers' anthemic I Am Australian has also been selected, following the death of lead singer Judith Durham in 2022.
