St. Pauli, Hamburg, is one of Germany’s most famous party districts and unique in its rough charm. The downside: “Wildpinklers” – the German term for drunks who simply pee wherever they please – are considered an inherent problem. Because they ruin the district’s image and piss off residents.

That’s why St. Pauli’s Community of Interest (IG St. Pauli e.V.) asked us for an idea that was attention-grabbing and easy to execute.

We solved this with a simple guerilla PR stunt right at place of the problem:

By applying 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.

An idea so simple it could be picked up and continued by anyone in the neighborhood.

The outcome: According to residents, peeing incidents have reduced where walls have been coated. The action’s video acquired more than 4,000,000 views on YouTube, spread over the internet and quickly became worldwide news. With 200,000,000 global media impressions, we created enormous publicity for the Community and the whole district drew worldwide attention to the problem and exported the idea to other countries.

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.

For PR purposes, 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.

Residents reported that the number of peeing incidents has reduced.

With zero media budget and seeding, the action’s video spread over the internet (approx. 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 raised public awareness for the residents’ issue, created enormous publicity for the area and the Community of Interests. The action 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.

Thousands asked us where to purchase the coating to continue the action, among them many large events – such as the Oktoberfest. 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.