Title	ST. PAULI PEEBACK
Brand	IG ST. PAULI
Product/Service	PUBLIC AWARENESS
Category	B03. Use of Social Platform(s) in a Promotional Campaign
Entrant Company	PUBLICIS PIXELPARK Hamburg, GERMANY
Advertising Agency	PUBLICIS PIXELPARK Hamburg, GERMANY
Production Company	MARKENFILM CROSSING Hamburg, GERMANY

Name	Company	Position
Timm Weber	Publicis Pixelpark	Executive Creative Director
Philipp Hentges	Publicis Pixelpark	Creative Director
Felipe Franco	Publicis Pixelpark	Creative Director
Nicole Grupski	Publicis Pixelpark	Account Manager
Axel Halasz	Publicis Pixelpark	Art Director
Oliver Hack	Markenfilm Crossing Gmbh	Executive Producer
Susan Barenberg	Markenfilm Crossing Gmbh	Producer
Max Kempe	Virus	Camera
Alexander Steinhoff	Virus	Film Director
Hannes Hönemann	Infected Postproduction Gmbh	Music/Sound

The Brief

To stop drunken people peeing wherever they like, St. Pauli’s Community of Interest (IG St. Pauli e.V.) asked for a non-bureaucratic solution that would neither scare away tourists nor work against the district’s rough charm. We started with a local solution that should go viral on the internet.

Campaign Success

After a two-weeks testing phase, the most suitable coating was chosen and ordered in large amounts. Within one week, it was applied by painters from the neighborhood to the most frequented walls in St. Pauli. The Idea directly corresponds to St. Pauli’s way of life – people here are known and loved for their direct and coarse sense of humor. We put up warning signs on the walls – and at the same time announced to the media that not every wall carries a warning sign. Thereby we made it unpredictable for “Wildpinklers” – where walls would pee back, and where they wouldn’t, expanding the action’s effect onto entire St. Pauli. According to the coating’s manufacturer, the hydrophobic effect lasts at least one year.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

With zero media budget and zero seeding, the action’s video spread over the internet (more than 4,000,000 YouTube clicks) and became global news. International press coverage, television broadcasts, blog posts and social network attention led to over 200 million global media impressions. This created enormous publicity for the area, its people and the Community of Interests. We led to a worldwide fun and engaging discussion. The German term “Wildpinkler” gained international acknowledgment, and countless Memes on social platforms like 9GAG and Reddit followed. Residents reported that the number of peeing incidents has not only reduced where walls had been coated. Thousands asked us where to purchase the coating to continue the action, among them many large events – such as the Oktoberfest. San Francisco is already testing the coating. And even countries – like Australia and India – are discussing whether to pee back, too. The coating’s manufacturer is receiving countless inquiries about purchase and even sold out in Germany.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

St. Pauli, Hamburg, is one of Germany’s most famous party districts and unique in its rough charm. The downside: despite prohibitions, fines and public toilets, drunks simply pee wherever they like (“Wildpinkler”). This ruins the district’s image and pisses off residents. But St. Pauli’s Community of Interest (IG St. Pauli e.V.) not only asked for an idea that locally solves the problem. They wanted us to create public awareness for the residents’ issue – in a way that fits to the area and would promote rough-charmed St. Pauli as an international “brand” and the Community of Interest as well. Therefore we applied super-hydrophobic coating to highly frequented walls in the neighborhood. The coating is so water-repellent that urine splashes right back. This makes for wet pants and shoes. The action was documented and its video spread over the internet and St. Pauli as well as its Community of Interests quickly became worldwide news.