Non-profit organization Ecovidrio is a leading force behind glass recycling in Spain, helping the country achieve a 66% recycling rate, exceeding the standard set by European legislation.

But that still left millions of citizens who weren't recycling and people who had ignored years of pro-recycling messages. In order to reach them Ecovidrio needed something dramatic and unexpected.

Knowing the social media habits of our target demographic, and the viral buzz needed for the small (9,000 euro) budget, our creative team decided to give them a fire storm.

The agency secretly recruited former Spanish football star Jose María Gutiérrez. Controversial for his adventurous lifestyle, a lightening rod for the Spanish media and an active Twitter user with nearly a million followers, “Guti” was the perfect choice to deliver our anti-recycling message.

It started with a May 13 Tweet from Guti: “Do you waste time recycling glass? I don’t.” Just as we predicted, the media exploded, and we set up Twitter and Facebook pages to catch it all. Not only were fans and detractors quick to reprimand Guti and fuel online debate, the traditional media made it legitimate news. Leading environmental and consumer organizations even entered the fray.

On May 16, the day before World Recycling Day, we exposed the ruse. Guti was, in fact, a supporter of glass recycling, not to mention a good sport for taking all the heat we created. One of the most successful organic social PR campaigns in Spain’s history, it resulted in a half-million more people becoming regular glass recyclers.

Fuel the debate

The action was set in motion on May 13, 2013 with an unexpected Tweet from Guti: “Do you waste time recycling glass? I don’t.” The message we planted spread rapidly through the social network, and indignant responses quickly followed. Many influencers publicly criticized the football celebrity, launching the story into radio, television and print media.

Soon everyone in Spain was talking about Guti’s famous tweet. We were ready with a response. Sent from Ecovidrio’s Twitter account with nearly 10,000 followers, we challenged Guti’s Tweet (“help explain to @GUTY14HAZ why recycling is essential”) and fuelled more social media momentum. Even Change.org got in on the action to ostracize Guti.

On May 16, the day before World Recycling Day, Guti revealed his secret complicity in the campaign with a tweet and video on Ecovidrio’s blog. Guti was, in fact, a big supporter of glass recycling, and his willingness to play along with the campaign became news in itself.

The final numbers from 2013 declared a clear victory for Guti and Ecovidrio. One of the most successful organic PR campaigns in Spain’s history, the four-day campaign resulted in a half-million more people becoming regular glass recyclers. We also generated:

• 300 online stories

• 23,000 Twitter posts generating 19 million impressions

• Radio coverage in 40 Principales and Julia en la Onda

• TV coverage on News T5, La Sexta, Noticas Cuatro and Intereconomía, ETB, Canal 9

• 200,000 unpaid views of the Guti video on YouTube

• 1,000% increase in traffic on Ecovidrio blog with visit peaks of 30,000 unique users at the same time.